Definition

1. Verb (past tense and past participle of 'strike'):

   • To hit or deliver a blow: The primary meaning, indicating the action of hitting something or someone.
   • To make an impression or occur to someone: To come suddenly into someone's mind or to affect them in a noticeable way.
   • To stop work as a protest: To engage in a work stoppage or labor strike.
   • To sound or chime: For a clock or bell to indicate the time by making a sound.
   • To discover or find: To come upon something, especially a resource or an idea.
   • To light a match: To cause a match to ignite by friction.
   • To assume a pose or attitude: To take on a specific posture or expression.

2. Adjective:

   • Affected by something overwhelming: Used in combination with other words to describe being powerfully impacted by a feeling or event (e.g., awe-struck, horror-struck).

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • The clock struck midnight. (The clock chimed to signal midnight.)
  • A brilliant idea struck her while she was showering. (A brilliant idea suddenly occurred to her.)
  • The workers struck for better pay. (The workers stopped working to protest for better pay.)
  • He struck the ball with great force. (He hit the ball with great force.)
  • The miners struck a rich vein of gold. (The miners discovered a rich vein of gold.)

• Adjective:

  • She was dumbstruck by the unexpected news. (She was so shocked by the news she couldn't speak.)
  • The tourists were awe-struck by the grandeur of the cathedral. (The tourists were filled with overwhelming awe.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be struck by/with": To be strongly affected or impressed by something.
  • I was struck by his kindness. (I was deeply impressed by his kindness.)
• "to strike a balance": To find a good compromise between two things.
  • It's important to strike a balance between work and leisure.
• "to strike a chord": To cause an emotional response or sense of recognition.
  • His speech about unity struck a chord with the audience.
• "to strike a deal": To reach an agreement.
  • The two companies finally struck a deal after months of negotiation.

Variants and Related Words

• Strike (v/n): The base form of the verb and the noun for a work stoppage or a military attack.
• Striking (adj): Very noticeable or impressive.
  • She bears a striking resemblance to her mother.
• Stricken (adj, past participle): Often used to describe being seriously affected by something negative (e.g., grief-stricken, poverty-stricken). Note: "Stricken" is an alternative past participle, often used in specific adjectival contexts.

Synonyms

• Hit: To bring one's hand or an object into contact with something forcefully.
• Occur: To come into one's mind.
• Impress: To affect someone's mind or feelings strongly.
• Discover: To find something unexpectedly.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Strike out:
  • To start an independent activity or journey.

    • After graduation, she struck out on her own.
  • In baseball, to be called out after three strikes.
  • To delete text by drawing a line through it.

    • He struck out the incorrect sentence.
• Strike up:
  • To begin a conversation or friendship.

    • He struck up a conversation with the person next to him.
  • To start playing music.

    • The band struck up a familiar tune.
• Strike down:
  • To make someone very ill or to kill them.

    • He was struck down by a sudden illness.
  • To declare a law invalid.

    • The court struck down the controversial law.

Related Idioms

• Strike while the iron is hot: To act at the most favorable moment.
  • They offered me the job, so I'm going to strike while the iron is hot and accept it today.
• Strike gold/oil: To have a great success or find something very valuable.
  • The startup struck gold with their new app.
• Strike a pose: To position one's body in a particular way, often for a photograph.
  • The model struck a pose for the camera.

Adjective

1. (used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
   • conscience-smitten
   • awe-struck