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to strike

to strike

37 2.8
To find something by chance
  • verb
  • /straɪk/
  • Informal
translation icon : encontrar
  • During our hike, we struck gold and found a beautiful waterfall that was not marked on any maps.

But if you're willing to fail, then sometimes you, you strike it rich.

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Examples

  • I think we just struck gold.

  • You have struck oil, madam!

  • Another asked, "Will I go to New York or will I strike oil?"

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Anything else strike you as odd when you were reading this story right there?

  • Hey, I think I struck oil.

  • Have we struck gold or what?

  • From another man who struck it rich.

  • I repeat, we've struck oil.

  • The buyer drilled a half dozen more wells and, of course, struck oil.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Uh, I was sitting in this coffee house in Pondicherry one afternoon, mourning my loss... when this old man at the table next to me struck up a conversation.

Synonyms

to discover
vsto strike
1.0

To find out about something for the first time, often by chance

is narrower, meaning a simple unexpected finding rather than new awareness
to come across
vsto strike
244 2.6

To find something or someone by chance

is about finding things rather than meeting people
to stumble
vsto strike
171 2.8

To find something by chance

is finding by chance without implying physical misstep
to come upon
vsto strike
50 2.2

To find something or someone by chance

is focused on finding objects rather than meeting people
to chance on
vsto strike
18 6.1

To find something or someone by accident while doing something else

is about unexpected finding without stressing luck or fortune
to happen upon
vsto strike
15 4.9

Find a person or thing by chance

is about finding something by chance rather than by planned search
to hit upon
vsto strike
7 4.9

To find or think of something by chance

is finding by chance without implying prior searching or thought
to fall upon
vsto strike
5 3.6

To find something by chance

is the single verb for finding things by chance
to chance upon
vsto strike
3 5.1

Find someone or something by accident

is used for finding by chance rather than focusing on the accident
to light upon
vsto strike
2 5.6

To find something by chance

is the basic idea of finding something unexpectedly

Antonyms

518 1.7

To not notice or hear something important

Idioms

66 3.3

Refusing to work to protest, usually by a group of workers

Make people feel a strong connection when it seems familiar

To seriously damage an idea or reputation

Do something quickly to use a good chance before it ends

To make a flame with a match or lighter

To take action that supports justice

To criticize or take advantage of someone when they are weak

Phrasal Verbs

50 7.4

Declare a law or rule no longer valid

To fight back after someone attacks or hurts you

to strike out
  • Jargon
31 4.1

In baseball, cause a batter to be out after they miss three pitches

Stop working as a group to protest for better pay or conditions

22 3.8

To start a conversation, friendship, or activity with someone in a quick informal way

To agree with someone after talking about the details

to strike out
  • Informal
18 3.9

Fail to succeed in an attempt to do something

Start talking to someone you do not know well

11 4.1

Begin to do something new on your own

Remove a name or item from a list by drawing a line through it

6 6.8

Cause someone to fall, become sick, or die suddenly

Move suddenly toward someone to try to hit or kick them

4 4.4

To start playing a song, usually by a band or group

Hit someone or something very hard

Have a strong effect that makes someone suddenly understand

To make someone unable to speak because they are very surprised or shocked

2 6.7

To remove a person or thing from an official list

To stop work together to ask the employer for higher pay

To find a useful clue that helps an investigation

To get unexpected good luck

To make a small spark by hitting a piece of flint to start a fire

To stop doing a job to protest for better pay or conditions

8.1

Take down a tent when leaving or ending an event

Compounds

29 3.2

To refuse to eat as a way to protest or demand change

A sudden flash of electricity from the sky that hits something or a sudden strong idea

strike zone
  • Specialized
11 4.4

Area over home plate between a batter's knees and shoulders where a pitch must pass to be called a strike

A military attack aimed at one target to avoid damage nearby

4 8.6

A surprise attack with nuclear weapons to destroy an enemy's ability to fight back

A surprise attack carried out to stop an enemy from attacking first

first strike
  • Specialized
3 5.0

An attack launched early to stop a threat that is about to happen, for example in war or computer attacks

Workers stay at their workplace and refuse to work until demands are met

A person who plans and speaks for workers who stop work for better pay or conditions

A strike by workers not approved by their union

ten-strike
  • Jargon
1 7.9

A bowler knocks down all ten pins with the first ball in a frame

strike pay
  • Jargon
1 6.7

Money a union gives members during a strike to help with living costs

8.0

A stoppage of work by workers to make managers follow safety and other workplace rules

7.2

A military action to stop an expected attack by an enemy before it happens

Workers stop work to support other workers who are not working

7.0

Workers stop work to support other workers on strike

strike-slip fault
  • Specialized
7.4

A break in the ground where two rock blocks move past each other horizontally

How Unexpected

to strike
  • Informal
37 2.8
to hit upon
7 4.9
to come across
244 2.6
to notice
1.0

Surface Forms

strike infinitive
striking present participle
strikes third person singular
struck past
struck past participle

Etymology

Strike in the sense 'find by chance' comes from miners 'striking' gold by hitting the right spot in the ground, so to strike something is to find it suddenly or by luck.