/ striːk; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a long thin mark or line that is a different colour from the surface it is on :
streaks of grey in her hair
dirty streaks on the window
➡ note at mark
2.
a part of a person's character, especially an unpleasant part :
a ruthless / vicious / mean streak
a streak of cruelty
3.
a series of successes or failures, especially in a sport or in gambling :
a streak of good luck
to hit (= have) a winning streak
to be on a winning / losing streak
a lucky / unlucky streak
■ verb
1.
[ vn ] streak sth (with sth) to mark or cover sth with streaks :
Tears streaked her face.
His face was streaked with mud.
She's had her hair streaked (= had special chemicals put on her hair so that it has attractive coloured lines in it) .
2.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move very fast in a particular direction
SYN speed :
A car pulled out and streaked off down the road.
3.
[ v , usually + adv. / prep. ] ( informal ) to run through a public place with no clothes on as a way of getting attention
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English strica , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch streek and German Strich , also to strike . The sense run naked was originally US slang.