1. (

• contact ,
• impinging ,
• striking

) the physical coming together of two or more things; "contact with the pier scraped paint from the hull" ;

2. (

• hit ,
• hitting ,
• striking

) the act of contacting one thing with another; "repeated hitting raised a large bruise"; "after three misses she finally got a hit" ;

1. (

• strike

) deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon; "The teacher struck the child"; "the opponent refused to strike"; "The boxer struck the attacker dead" ;

2. (

• affect ,
• impress ,
• move ,
• strike

) have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd"; "he was dumb-struck by the news"; "her comments struck a sour note" ;

3. (

• hit ,
• strike ,
• impinge_on ,
• run_into ,
• collide_with

) hit against; come into sudden contact with; "The car hit a tree"; "He struck the table with his elbow" ;

4. (

• strike ,
• hit

) make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target; "The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939"; "We must strike the enemy's oil fields"; "in the fifth inning, the Giants struck, sending three runners home to win the game 5 to 2" ;

5. (

• strike

) indicate (a certain time) by striking; "The clock struck midnight"; "Just when I entered, the clock struck" ;

6. (

• hit ,
• strike ,

) affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely; "We were hit by really bad weather"; "He was stricken with cancer when he was still a teenager"; "The earthquake struck at midnight" ;

7. (

• strike ,
• walk_out

) stop work in order to press demands; "The auto workers are striking for higher wages"; "The employees walked out when their demand for better benefits was not met" ;

8. (

• fall ,
• shine ,
• strike

) touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly; "Light fell on her face"; "The sun shone on the fields"; "The light struck the golden necklace"; "A strange sound struck my ears" ;

9. (

• come_to ,
• strike ,

) attain; "The horse finally struck a pace" ;

10. (

• strike ,
• hit ,

) produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments; "The pianist strikes a middle C"; "strike `z' on the keyboard" ;

11. (

• strike

) cause to form (an electric arc) between electrodes of an arc lamp; "strike an arc" ;

12. (

• fall_upon ,
• strike ,
• come_upon ,
• light_upon ,
• chance_upon ,
• come_across ,
• chance_on ,
• happen_upon ,
• attain ,
• discover

) find unexpectedly; "the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake" ;

13. (

• strike

) produce by ignition or a blow; "strike fire from the flintstone"; "strike a match" ;

14. (

• strike ,
• scratch ,
• expunge ,
• excise

) remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line; "Please strike this remark from the record"; "scratch that remark" ;

15. (

• hit ,
• strike ,
• come_to

) cause to experience suddenly; "Panic struck me"; "An interesting idea hit her"; "A thought came to me"; "The thought struck terror in our minds"; "They were struck with fear" ;

16. (

• hit ,
• strike ,

) drive something violently into a location; "he hit his fist on the table"; "she struck her head on the low ceiling" ;

17. (

• assume ,
• take ,
• strike ,
• take_up ,

) occupy or take on; "He assumes the lotus position"; "She took her seat on the stage"; "We took our seats in the orchestra"; "She took up her position behind the tree"; "strike a pose" ;

18. (

• strike ,

) disassemble a temporary structure, such as a tent or a theatrical set; "after the show, we'll have to strike the set and pack up" ;

19. (

• mint ,
• coin ,
• strike ,

) form by stamping, punching, or printing; "strike coins"; "strike a medal" ;

20. (

• strickle ,
• strike ,

) smooth with a strickle; "strickle the grain in the measure" ;

21. (

• strike ,

) pierce with force; "The bullet struck her thigh"; "The icy wind struck through our coats" ;

22. (

• strike

) arrive at after reckoning, deliberating, and weighing; "strike a balance"; "strike a bargain" ;

1. (

• dramatic ,
• spectacular ,
• striking

) sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect; "a dramatic sunset"; "a dramatic pause"; "a spectacular display of northern lights"; "it was a spectacular play"; "his striking good looks always created a sensation" ;

2. (

• outstanding ,
• prominent ,
• salient ,
• spectacular ,
• striking

) having a quality that thrusts itself into attention; "an outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own freedom"; "a new theory is the most prominent feature of the book"; "salient traits"; "a spectacular rise in prices"; "a striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center"; "a striking resemblance between parent and child" ;