on strike
66
3.3
- idiom
- The teachers are currently on strike to demand better salaries and working conditions.
- go on strike
- workers on strike
- on strike for pay
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Watch on YouTubeBut that time while the actors were on strike and we couldn't start the show, start shooting was great.
- But that time while the actors were on strike and we couldn't start the show, start shooting was great.
- I work for the largest trucking company that's going on strike it does it rhyme with UPS?
- Railroad workers reacted to the cuts by going on strike and rioting in Pittsburgh.
- And while I was there, the university went on strike.
- On a call from the SPD, the whole country goes on strike.
- Keep in mind, if they do go on strike, pay usually stops when the strikes begin.
- So there's an episode of that show where the they're on strike from IPS where they work, which is UPS the main character, Doug and his friends.
Examples
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The rest of the team went on strike, lost, and went home.
-
But earlier this year, they went on strike for higher pay.
Academic text (2010) -
As of this minute, the nurses are on strike.
-
The other elevator operators went on strike, and the French public supported them.
Blog text (15) -
They've confirmed they are going on strike and the tube drivers are coming out in support.
-
Recently, 10,000 healthcare workers in Alberta, Canada, went on strike for two days over disputes about wages and other working conditions.
Academic text (2002) -
After a long negotiation, the factory workers decided to go on strike for their rights.
-
During the summer, many public transit workers went on strike to protest against their working hours.
Synonyms
64
3.2
To stop work as a protest to get better pay
35
3.2
Stop working as a group to protest for better pay or conditions
4
4.1
Stop work and leave a place as a protest by workers
1
5.7
To stop doing a job to protest for better pay or conditions
1
8.1
Workers stop work to protest about pay or conditions
Antonyms
How Disruptive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'on' marks being in a state or condition and 'strike' denotes a work stoppage, so 'on strike' straightforwardly means 'in a state of refusing to work.' This preposition+event/state pattern is common across languages (e.g., en grève, en huelga), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
On strike comes from a simple old image: workers would put down their tools and strike — that is, stop work — to show they were angry. So being on strike means 'refusing to work' as a way to protest.