strike
/stɹaɪk/
"strike" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“strike” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,234 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #2,234
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To delete or cross out; to scratch or eliminate.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | strike |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /stɹaɪk/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #2,234 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “strike” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for strike is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɹaɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,234 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 47 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for strike, with forms such as "srtike", "sstrike", and "stirke". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "strip", "string", "stroke", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stryken, from Old English strīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *strīkan, from Proto-Germanic *strīkaną, from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to stroke, rub, press”). Cognate with Dutch strijken, German streichen, Danish stryge, Icelandic str… The correct English form is strike, spelled S-T-R-I-K-E.
Definition
- 1To delete or cross out; to scratch or eliminate.
- 2To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 3To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 4To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 5To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 6To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 7To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 8To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 9To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 10To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
- 11To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate.
- 12To infest the flesh of a living vertebrate.
- 13To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 14To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 15To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 16To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 17To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 18To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 19To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 20To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 21To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 22To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 23To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
- 24To touch; to act by appulse.
- 25To hook (a fish) by a quick turn of the wrist.
- 26To take down, especially in the following contexts.
- 27To take down, especially in the following contexts.
- 28To take down, especially in the following contexts.
- 29To take down, especially in the following contexts.
- 30To take down, especially in the following contexts.
- 31To take down, especially in the following contexts.
- 32To set off on a walk or trip.
- 33To pass with a quick or strong effect; to dart; to penetrate.
- 34To break forth; to commence suddenly; with into.
- 35To become attached to something; said of the spat of oysters.
- 36To make and ratify; to reach; to find.
- 37To discover a source of something, often a buried raw material such as ore (especially gold) or crude oil.
- 38To level (a measure of grain, salt, etc.) with a straight instrument, scraping off what is above the level of the top.
- 39To cut off (a mortar joint, etc.) even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.
- 40To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly.
- 41To lade thickened sugar cane juice from a teache into a cooler.
- 42To stroke or pass lightly; to wave.
- 43To advance; to cause to go forward; used only in the past participle.
- 44To balance (a ledger or account).
- 45To become saturated with salt.
- 46To run, or fade in colour.
- 47To do menial work for an officer.
Etymology
From Middle English stryken, from Old English strīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *strīkan, from Proto-Germanic *strīkaną, from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to stroke, rub, press”). Cognate with Dutch strijken, German streichen, Danish stryge, Icelandic strýkja, strýkva.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: srtike,sstrike,stirke,striek,strikke,strkie,strrike,sttrike,tsrike
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of strike - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "strike"?
What does "strike" mean?
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Using “strike”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-R-I-K-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /stɹaɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “strip” - see the side-by-side comparison. strike vs strip
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.