Strike

Strike centers on forceful contact or sudden action.

To strike is to hit: The car struck a guardrail.

Lightning strikes, clocks strike the hour, and ideas strike you suddenly.

Workers strike by refusing to work until demands are met—a strike.

In baseball, a strike is a pitch the batter fails to hit or swings at and misses; three strikes and you're out, which extends to any system of limited chances.

To strike out is to fail.

To strike up is to begin: strike up a conversation, strike up the band.

A lucky strike is a valuable discovery, especially of oil or gold.

To strike something from the record is to delete it.

labor

walkout

Protest by leaving

workers · negotiate · demands · collective · shutdown · demonstration · solidarity · scab · lockout · wages

hit

blow

Move air forcefully

impact · contact · swing · force · fist · attack · knock · whack · pummel · batter

military

airstrike

Aircraft-delivered military attack

  • bombExplosive device or disaster
  • attackAggressive act against another
  • raidSudden armed incursion

missile · target · drone · surgical · precision · tactical · offensive · retaliation · sortie · assault

discovery

find

Locate through effort

  • goldElement seventy-nine
  • oilSlippery viscous fluid
  • veinVessel toward heart

lode · prospector · bonanza · jackpot · motherlode · ore · deposit · lucky · rich · claim

music

chord

Notes sounded simultaneously

  • noteShort written record
  • keyLock-opening device
  • strumBrush strings rhythmically

pluck · piano · guitar · tone · sound · play · hammer · string · resonance · downbeat

bowling

pins

Pointed sewing fasteners

  • spareHeld in reserve
  • frameSupporting outer structure
  • turkeyWattled North American fowl

perfect · lane · ball · gutter · alley · tenpin · split · score · throw · knockout

match

ignite

Start burning something

  • lightVisible electromagnetic radiation
  • frictionResistance between touching surfaces
  • flameBurning gas made visible

sulfur · spark · matchstick · flare · kindling · phosphorus · scratch · combustion · matchbox · head

delete

remove

Take something away

omit · excise · scratch · eliminate · expunge · redact · strikethrough · void · nullify · retract

Opposites
labor action

Strikework

Effort toward a goal

labor · return to work · scab · lockout · agreement

physical contact

Strikemiss

Fail to reach

avoid · dodge · whiff · evade · block

bowling/baseball outcome

Strikeball

Spherical plaything or gala

hit · gutter ball · spare · home run · base hit

Phrases
Family

strikes, stricken, striking, strikingly, striker, strikers

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G