to strike
- verb
- /straɪk/
- The workers decided to strike after negotiations for better pay broke down.
- workers strike
- unions strike
- right to strike
Examples
-
In every mine and mill, where workers strike and organize, "says he, "you'll find Joe Hill.
Fiction book (1993) -
We strike tomorrow at 0600.
-
Like in France, we, we love to strike for everything.
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Well, if we strike, let's go out and live, guys.
-
The union's 88 members at Centrepoint are now set to strike on 10, 11, and 30 November.
Academic text (2011) -
During the meeting, the union representatives announced their intention to strike if their demands were not met.
-
Thousands of teachers went on strike to advocate for improved classroom resources and smaller class sizes.
Synonyms
Stop working as a group to protest for better pay or conditions
Stop work and leave a place as a protest by workers
To stop doing a job to protest for better pay or conditions
Workers stop work to protest about pay or conditions
To stop work together to ask the employer for higher pay
To take part in a strike without union permission
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
Do something quickly to use a good chance before it ends
- Informal
To criticize or take advantage of someone when they are weak
Phrasal Verbs
To start a conversation, friendship, or activity with someone in a quick informal way
Compounds
A sudden flash of electricity from the sky that hits something or a sudden strong idea
- Specialized
Area over home plate between a batter's knees and shoulders where a pitch must pass to be called a strike
- NSFW
A surprise attack with nuclear weapons to destroy an enemy's ability to fight back
- Specialized
An attack launched early to stop a threat that is about to happen, for example in war or computer attacks
A person who plans and speaks for workers who stop work for better pay or conditions
- Specialized
A break in the ground where two rock blocks move past each other horizontally
- Formal
A military action to stop an expected attack by an enemy before it happens
- Jargon
A stoppage of work by workers to make managers follow safety and other workplace rules
How Disruptive
Surface Forms
Etymology
A helpful way to remember strike in the work sense is to think of people 'striking' their tools down or 'striking the tents' to stop work; the verb originally also meant 'take down' or stop. That's why workers who 'strike' put down tools and refuse to work.