streak

Meaning

Noun

1. An irregular line left from smearing or motion.
2. A continuous series of like events.
3. (Internet) A continuous series of like events.
4. A consistent facet of somebody's personality.
5. The color of the powder of a mineral. So called, because a simple field test for a mineral is to streak it against unglazed white porcelain.
6. A moth of the family Geometridae, Chesias legatella.
7. A tendency or characteristic, but not a dominant or pervasive one.
8. A strake.
9. A rung or round of a ladder.
10. The act of streaking, or running naked through a public area.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To have or obtain streaks.
2. (intransitive) To run quickly.
3. (intransitive) To run naked in public.
4. (intransitive) To move very swiftly.
5. (transitive) To create streaks upon.
6. (Scotland, UK, obsolete) To stretch; to extend; hence, to lay out, as a dead body.

Synonyms

stripe

line

strip

scratch

mark

stria

stroke

run

feature

vein

band

fleck

mottle

rush

series

strain

flash

zoom

succession

music line

trait

bar

thread

🧵

trace

blotch

fringe

striate

smear

striation

patch

lineament

dash

💨

destroy

deprave

career

demolish

demean

bring down

batch

degrade

decrease

fulmination

fly

✈️

debase

block

abridge

fluting

flute

🪈

cut up

fleet

Translations

raya

raie

schreef

schrap

Streifen

streep

streek

zébrer

haal

rayure

strie

Strich

streifen

stria

flitzen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/stɹiːk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: streke

Inherited from Old English: strica

Cognate with Northern Frisian: strijck

Cognate with Old Saxon: striki

Cognate with Middle Low German: streke

Cognate with Low German: streek

Cognate with Danish: streg

Cognate with Swedish: streck

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: strek

Cognate with Icelandic: stryk

Cognate with Dutch: streek

Cognate with Afrikaans: streek

Cognate with Old High German: strih

Cognate with German: Strich

Cognate with Gothic: 𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃

In summary

From Middle English streke, from Old English strica, from Proto-Germanic *strikiz, from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“line”). Related to North Frisian strijck, Old Saxon striki, Middle Low German streke, Low German streek, Danish streg, Swedish streck, Norwegian Bokmål strek, Icelandic stryk, strykr, Dutch streek, Afrikaans streek, Old High German strih, German Strich, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃 (striks).