strike
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
How often you will meet it
Rank 1,494 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 12,240 times across 155,370 chapters — 0.006% of every word in the library.
What it means
verb
- deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon The teacher struck the childthe opponent refused to strike
- have an emotional or cognitive impact upon also: affect, impress, move This child impressed me as unusually matureThis behavior struck me as odd
- hit against; come into sudden contact with also: hit, impinge on, run into, collide with The car hit a treeHe struck the table with his elbow
- make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target also: hit The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939We must strike the enemy's oil fields
- indicate (a certain time) by striking The clock struck midnightJust when I entered, the clock struck
- affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely also: hit We were hit by really bad weatherHe was stricken with cancer when he was still a teenager
strike in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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He looked at the clock: ten o’clock was about to strike.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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As he thought of his aunt, an idea seemed to strike him.
The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde · Chapter 1
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Then strike it off also, and so go on till you have cut off all his seven heads.’
The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts · World Traditions (Celtic, Norse, Asian & Persian) · Chapter 1
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Tom thought he was going to strike her; but she looked him too full and fierce in the face for that.
The Water-Babies · Charles Kingsley · Chapter 1
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Listen for a few moments to my tale of woe, and then say if you can strike a blow on my behalf.
Punch — Volume 99, August 16, 1890 · Various · Chapter 1