strike

The word “strike” means to hit someone or something, often forcefully. In plain terms, to hit something, to stop working in protest, or to suddenly discover or realize something.

“Strike” is pronounced stryk (/stɹaɪk/ in IPA).

Here is “strike” used in a sentence: “The factory workers voted to strike after their pay demands were rejected.”

Depending on how it is used, “strike” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “strike” comes from Old English.

“Strike” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Strike” has 7 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to hit someone or something, often forcefully.

Both mean to bring something forcefully against something else, and they often swap freely. 'Hit' is the plain, everyday word. 'Strike' sounds a little more formal or forceful and is favoured in precise or dramatic contexts — a clock strikes, lightning strikes, a boxer strikes a blow. In casual speech, 'hit' is more common.

To strike is to hit something, often hard. A stroke is usually a gentle, smooth movement — you stroke a cat or make a stroke with a brush. Although 'stroke' can name a single act of striking, such as a stroke of the hammer, the verb 'to stroke' means to touch softly, the opposite of striking.

No. Hitting is the core sense, but 'strike' has many others: workers strike by stopping work, you strike a match, you strike gold, an idea strikes you, and you strike a deal. Context makes the meaning clear. The definition here — to hit forcefully — is simply its most physical and literal sense.

'The ball struck the window,' 'she struck the drum,' or 'the car struck a lamppost' all use this sense. Lightning can strike a tree, and a clock strikes the hour by sounding its bell. In each, one thing comes forcefully against another, which is the heart of this meaning.