[strike] vb struck ; struck also strick.en ; strik.ing [ME, fr. OE strican to stroke, go; akin to OHG strihhan to stroke, L stringere to touch lightly, striga, stria furrow] vi (bef. 12c) 1: to take a course: go "struck off through the brush"
2. a: to aim and usu. deliver a blow, stroke, or thrust (as with the hand, a weapon, or a tool) b: to arrive with detrimental effect "disaster struck" c: to attempt to undermine or harm something as if by a blow "struck at ... cherished notions --R. P. Warren"
3: to come into contact forcefully "two ships struck in mid channel"
4: to delete something
5: to lower a flag usu. in surrender
6. a: to become indicated by a clock, bell, or chime "the hour had just struck" b: to make known the time by sounding "the clock struck as they entered" 7: pierce, penetrate "the wind seemed to ~ through our clothes"
8. a: to engage in battle b: to make a military attack 9: to become ignited 10: to discover something "struck on a new plan of attack" 11 a: to pull on a fishing rod in order to set the hook b of a fish: to seize the bait 12: dart, shoot 13 a of a plant cutting: to take root b of a seed: germinate 14: to make an impression 15: to stop work in order to force an employer to comply with demands 16: to make a beginning "the need to ~ vigorously for success" 17: to thrust oneself forward "he struck into the midst of the argument" 18: to work diligently: strive ~ vt 1 a: to strike at: hit b: to drive or remove by or as if by a blow c: to attack or seize with a sharp blow (as of fangs or claws) "struck by a snake" d: inflict "~ a blow" e: to produce by or as if by a blow or stroke "Moses struck water from the rock" f: to separate by a sharp blow "~ off flints"
2. a: to haul down: lower "~ the sails" b: to dismantle and take away c: to strike the tents of (a camp)
3: to afflict suddenly "stricken by a heart attack"
4. a: to engage in (a battle): fight b: to make a military attack on
5: delete, cancel "~ the last paragraph"
6. a: to penetrate painfully: pierce b: to cause to penetrate c: to send down or out "trees struck roots deep into the soil"
7. a: to level (as a measure of grain) by scraping off what is above the rim b: to smooth or form with a strickle 8: to become rich usu. suddenly
[2]strike n (15c) 1: strickle
2: an act or instance of striking 3 a: a work stoppage by a body of workers to enforce compliance with demands made on an employer b: a temporary stoppage of activities in protest against an act or condition
4: the direction of the line of intersection of a horizontal plane with an uptilted geological stratum
5. a: a pull on a fishing rod to strike a fish b: a pull on a line by a fish in striking
6: a stroke of good luck; esp: a discovery of a valuable mineral deposit
7. a: a pitched ball that is in the strike zone or is swung at and is not hit fair b: a perfectly thrown ball or pass 8: disadvantage, handicap 9: an act or instance of knocking down all the bowling pins with the first bowl 10: establishment of roots and plant growth 11: cutaneous myiasis (as of sheep) 12 a: a military attack; esp: an air attack on a single objective b: a group of airplanes taking part in such an attack