strike

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   (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

2. 2
   noun

   a score in tenpins: knocking down all ten with the first ball

   They finished with three strikes in the tenth frame.

3. 3
   noun

   an attack that is intended to seize or inflict damage on or destroy an objective

   the strike was scheduled to begin at dawn

4. 4
   noun

   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

5. 5
   verb

   cause to form (an electric arc) between electrodes of an arc lamp

   strike an arc

6. 6
   verb

   arrive at after reckoning, deliberating, and weighing

   strike a balance

7. 7
   verb

   produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments, also metaphorically

   The pianist strikes a middle C

8. 8
   verb

   remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line

   Please strike this remark from the record

Etymology

From Middle English stryken, from Old English strīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *strīkan, from Proto-Germanic *strīkaną, from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to stroke, rub, press”). Cognate with Dutch strijken, German streichen, Danish stryge, Icelandic strýkja, strýkva.