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1. Deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
   "The teacher struck the child"; "the opponent refused to strike"; "The boxer struck the attacker dead"
    
2. Have an emotional or cognitive impact upon
   "This behaviour struck me as odd"; "he was dumb-struck by the news"; "her comments struck a sour note";
   - affect, impress, move
    
3. Come into sudden contact with
   "He struck the table with his elbow";
   - hit, impinge on, run into, collide with, impact
    
4. Make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target
   "The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939"; "We must strike the enemy's oil fields"; "in the fifth inning, the Giants struck, sending three runners home to win the game 5 to 2";
   - hit
    
5. Indicate (a certain time) by striking
   "The clock struck midnight"; "Just when I entered, the clock struck"
    
6. Affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely
   "The earthquake struck at midnight";
   - hit
    
7. Stop work in order to press demands
   "The auto workers are striking for higher wages";
   - walk out
    
8. Touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
   "The light struck the golden necklace"; "A strange sound struck my ears";
   - fall, shine
    
9. Attain
   "The horse finally struck a pace";
   - come to
    
10. Produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments
    "strike 'z' on the keyboard"; "The pianist strikes a middle C";
    - hit
     
11. Cause to form (an electric arc) between electrodes of an arc lamp
    "strike an arc"
     
12. Find unexpectedly
    "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake";
    - fall upon, come upon, light upon, chance upon, come across, chance on, happen upon, attain, discover
     
13. Produce by ignition or a blow
    "strike fire from the flintstone"; "strike a match"
     
14. Remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
    "Please strike this remark from the record";
    - scratch, expunge, excise
     
15. Cause to experience suddenly
    "Panic struck me"; "The thought struck terror in our minds"; "They were struck with fear";
    - hit, come to
     
16. Drive something violently into a location
    "she struck her head on the low ceiling";
    - hit
     
17. Occupy or take on
    "strike a pose";
    - assume, take, take up
     
18. Disassemble a temporary structure, such as a tent or a theatrical set
    "after the show, we'll have to strike the set and pack up"
     
19. Form by stamping, punching, or printing
    "strike coins"; "strike a medal";
    - mint, coin
     
20. Smooth with a strickle
    "strike the grain in the measure";
    - strickle
     
21. Pierce with force
    "The bullet struck her thigh"; "The icy wind struck through our coats"
     
22. Hook by a pull on the line
    "strike a fish";
    - seize
     
23. Arrive at after reckoning, deliberating, and weighing
    "strike a balance"; "strike a bargain"

1. A group's refusal to work in protest against low pay or bad work conditions
   "the strike lasted more than a month before it was settled";
   - work stoppage
    
2. An attack that is intended to seize or inflict damage on or destroy an objective
   "the strike was scheduled to begin at dawn"
    
3. A gentle blow
   - rap, tap
    
4. A score in tenpins: knocking down all ten with the first ball
   "he finished with three strikes in the tenth frame";
   - ten-strike
    
5. (baseball) a pitch that the batter swings at and misses, or that the batter hits into foul territory, or that the batter does not swing at but the umpire judges to be in the area over home plate and between the batter's knees and shoulders
   "this pitcher throws more strikes than balls"
    
6. A conspicuous success
   "that song was his first strike and marked the beginning of his career";
   - hit, smash, smasher [informal], bang [informal], sizzler [informal]

Derived forms: strikes, striking, struck

See also: drop

Type of: accomplish, achieve, affect, assail, attack, attain, bear on, bear upon, blow, break apart, break up, bump, cancel, come about, create, create from raw material, create from raw stuff, delete, delivery, disassemble, dismantle, displace, dissent, even, even out, fall out, figure out, find, flush, form, go on, hap [archaic], happen, hook, impact, industrial action [Brit], job action [N. Amer], level, lick [N. Amer, informal], make, move, occur, onrush, onset, onslaught, pass, pass off, penetrate, perforate, pitch, protest, puzzle out, reach, read, record, regain, register, resist, score, shape, show, solve, success, suss [Brit, informal], suss out [Brit, informal], take apart, take place, touch, touch on, unriddle, work, work out

Antonym: miss

Encyclopedia: Strike, John