to strike out
31
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /straɪk aʊt/
- Jargon
:
poncharse
- The pitcher managed to get the batter to strike out by throwing three perfect strikes.
- the batter struck out
- struck out three
- struck out swinging
Examples
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I'll tell you, last year he struck out 18 batters in one game.
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Babe Ruth has struck out!
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How many tries do you get before you strike out?
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I know, I struck out all over the place.
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You did strike out, but you struck out swinging hard.
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You're on your third strike, and you just struck out.
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Just like that, I struck out the first batter, then the second.
Fiction book (2002) -
Every batter either strikes out or hits a home run.
Academic text (1996) -
Verlander walked two and struck out eight, but Dan walked none and struck out nine.
Blog text (3) -
Matt threw fastballs for the next two pitches and struck out the batter.
Fiction book (1997)
Synonyms
13
7.3
Cause a player to be out in a game like baseball
7
5.2
Cause a player or team to end their turn after a play
1
7.3
To make a baseball batter miss three pitches and lose their turn
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The element 'out' conveys movement away or independence, but the given sense of 'strike' (remove/cross out) does not directly mean 'begin'; the phrase relies on a metaphorical extension (similar to 'set out' or 'venture out') to mean starting independently. Because that connection is not fully predictable from the literal meanings, a B1 learner who knows the words would likely need prior exposure to infer the exact sense.
Etymology
Strike out comes from baseball, where a batter who gets three called strikes is put out, so it means 'to be dismissed as a batter after missing pitches'.