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Glite Dictionary
to strike a blow

to strike a blow

3 7.4
To seriously damage an idea or reputation
  • idiom
translation icon : dar un golpe
  • The Wulfgar Command has just struck a blow against British colonialism.

Examples

  • Within the past year, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck a blow for states' rights, whacked the monumental Miranda ruling at the knees, and took a piece out of the Violence Against Women Act, saying the commerce clause didn't stretch that far.

    Academic text (1999)

  • We struck a blow for sisterhood.

    The Glass House (2001)

  • Somebody had to strike a blow for freedom.

    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

  • Well, you and I will strike a blow for liberty.

    They Drive by Night (1940)

  • But I would surely rather strike a blow than either flee or remain quiet, waiting to be struck.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The defendant thought he was striking a blow to the American economy.

    Blog text (19)

  • Second, in some small way, I may have been able to strike a blow against misunderstandings that flow in the other direction.

    Academic text (2007)

  • First, I learned a great deal, and I am therefore in a better position to strike a blow against the misunderstandings about Iran that are all too prevalent in the United States today.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Activists are working hard to strike a blow against climate change through awareness campaigns.

  • The new policy aims to strike a blow at poverty by providing more resources for low-income families.

Synonyms

to hit out at
vsto strike a blow
  • UK
1 6.7

To criticize someone or something strongly in public

covers actions that damage or challenge systems rather than only public criticism

Antonyms

to support
∞ 1.0

Give help to a person or idea

How Damaging

to cripple
72 6.3
to strike a blow
3 7.4
to impact
255 3.4

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

strike + a + blow

The sense 'to have a significant effect' is directly derivable from 'strike' (to hit or attack) + 'blow' (a strong hit), with the determiner 'a' not changing meaning; learners can easily map this to a metaphorical 'hit' against an idea or system. This hit-as-impact metaphor is common across languages and uses straightforward composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Strike a blow comes from the simple image of hitting something: to strike is to hit and a blow is the hit itself. So the phrase now means 'to do something that hurts or weakens' an idea, group, or system.