to be within striking distance
8
4.7
- idiom
:
estar al alcance
- With a reasonable base turnout in 2010, we could have been within striking distance of taking back the House this year.
Examples
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Rivier battled back to stay within striking distance and trailed the Huskies by 12, 54-42, following a three-pointer from Guidi.
Blog text (9) -
As Evan said, the Rangers will play hard—the A's are within striking distance for the division.
Blog text (30) -
You must be within striking distance from them each and every second.
-
When a certain threshold is reached, it will mean a human is within striking distance.
Blog text (34) -
No one gets within striking distance of the presidency without having clawed his way into the upper class.
Blog text (29) -
But Southeast Missouri State made eight of 15 from three-point range, staying within striking distance until late in the second half.
Blog text (8) -
The tribesmen overran large areas of the state and were within striking distance of Srinagar.
Academic text (1995) -
They took up residence at Stoke Court, near Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire, within striking distance of London.
Academic text (2012) -
Direct ground clashes were only likely, therefore, in the event of an Iraqi deployment in Jordan, which could also mean the presence of Iraqi troops along the Jordan River border with Israel, within striking distance of major Israeli bases and cities.
Academic text (1993) -
After weeks of training, the team is finally within striking distance of their championship goals.
Synonyms
325
1.0
Close to a person, place, or thing
240
1.0
At a short distance in space or time
72
2.9
To be almost as good as something in quality or amount
56
1.8
To move closer in space or time
25
3.5
Very near to someone or something at a short distance
20
2.8
Close enough to get by hand or to achieve with little effort
4
2.4
Near you and easy to reach
Antonyms
How Close
Surface Forms
Morphology
be + within + striking + distance
The elements 'be' + 'within' + 'distance' clearly signal spatial closeness, so a learner will likely infer 'nearby' from those constituents. However, 'striking' here is metaphorical (originally 'able to strike' = able to reach/affect), not the common adjective sense 'noticeable', so the precise sense 'close enough to achieve or obtain something' is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Be within striking distance comes from the image of being close enough to strike, meaning to hit, because the distance between you and the target is small. So, it now means 'close enough to get or achieve something soon'.