Definition of strike

• v. t. - To touch or hit with some force, either with the hand or with an instrument; to smite; to give a blow to, either with the hand or with any instrument or missile.
• v. t. - To come in collision with; to strike against; as, a bullet struck him; the wave struck the boat amidships; the ship struck a reef.
• v. t. - To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a force to; to dash; to cast.
• v. t. - To stamp or impress with a stroke; to coin; as, to strike coin from metal: to strike dollars at the mint.
• v. t. - To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate; to set in the earth; as, a tree strikes its roots deep.
• v. t. - To punish; to afflict; to smite.
• v. t. - To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or notify by audible strokes; as, the clock strikes twelve; the drums strike up a march.
• v. t. - To lower; to let or take down; to remove; as, to strike sail; to strike a flag or an ensign, as in token of surrender; to strike a yard or a topmast in a gale; to strike a tent; to strike the centering of an arch.
• v. t. - To make a sudden impression upon, as by a blow; to affect sensibly with some strong emotion; as, to strike the mind, with surprise; to strike one with wonder, alarm, dread, or horror.
• v. t. - To affect in some particular manner by a sudden impression or impulse; as, the plan proposed strikes me favorably; to strike one dead or blind.
• v. t. - To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a stroke; as, to strike a light.
• v. t. - To cause to ignite; as, to strike a match.
• v. t. - To make and ratify; as, to strike a bargain.
• v. t. - To take forcibly or fraudulently; as, to strike money.
• v. t. - To level, as a measure of grain, salt, or the like, by scraping off with a straight instrument what is above the level of the top.
• v. t. - To cut off, as a mortar joint, even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.
• v. t. - To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly; as, my eye struck a strange word; they soon struck the trail.
• v. t. - To borrow money of; to make a demand upon; as, he struck a friend for five dollars.
• v. t. - To lade into a cooler, as a liquor.
• v. t. - To stroke or pass lightly; to wave.
• v. t. - To advance; to cause to go forward; -- used only in past participle.
• v. i. - To move; to advance; to proceed; to take a course; as, to strike into the fields.
• v. i. - To deliver a quick blow or thrust; to give blows.
• v. i. - To hit; to collide; to dush; to clash; as, a hammer strikes against the bell of a clock.
• v. i. - To sound by percussion, with blows, or as with blows; to be struck; as, the clock strikes.
• v. i. - To make an attack; to aim a blow.
• v. i. - To touch; to act by appulse.
• v. i. - To run upon a rock or bank; to be stranded; as, the ship struck in the night.
• v. i. - To pass with a quick or strong effect; to dart; to penetrate.
• v. i. - To break forth; to commence suddenly; -- with into; as, to strike into reputation; to strike into a run.
• v. i. - To lower a flag, or colors, in token of respect, or to signify a surrender of a ship to an enemy.
• v. i. - To quit work in order to compel an increase, or prevent a reduction, of wages.
• v. i. - To become attached to something; -- said of the spat of oysters.
• v. i. - To steal money.
• n. - The act of striking.
• n. - An instrument with a straight edge for leveling a measure of grain, salt, and the like, scraping off what is above the level of the top; a strickle.
• n. - A bushel; four pecks.
• n. - An old measure of four bushels.
• n. - Fullness of measure; hence, excellence of quality.
• n. - An iron pale or standard in a gate or fence.
• n. - The act of quitting work; specifically, such an act by a body of workmen, done as a means of enforcing compliance with demands made on their employer.
• n. - A puddler's stirrer.
• n. - The horizontal direction of the outcropping edges of tilted rocks; or, the direction of a horizontal line supposed to be drawn on the surface of a tilted stratum. It is at right angles to the dip.
• n. - The extortion of money, or the attempt to extort money, by threat of injury; blackmailing.