strategic
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of strategy.
strategic movements.
-
important in or essential to strategy.
-
(of an action, as a military operation or a move in a game) forming an integral part of a stratagem.
a strategic move in a game of chess.
-
Military.
-
intended to render the enemy incapable of making war, as by the destruction of materials, factories, etc..
a strategic bombing mission.
-
(of a weapon) long range, as an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Strategic nuclear weapons were the linchpin of the Mutual Assured Destruction doctrine at the height of the Cold War.
-
essential to the conduct of a war.
Copper is a strategic material.
-
adjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of strategy
-
important to a strategy or to strategy in general
-
(of weapons, attacks, etc) directed against an enemy's homeland rather than used on a battlefield
a strategic missile
strategic bombing
Other Word Forms
- nonstrategic adjective
- nonstrategical adjective
- strategically adverb
- unstrategic adjective
- unstrategical adjective
Etymology
Origin of strategic
First recorded in 1815–25; from Greek stratēgikós, equivalent to stratēg(ós) “general” ( strategy ) + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The commission will propose that if companies want public money, they must meet minimum thresholds for EU-made parts in "strategic sectors", set to include cars, green tech and "energy-intensive" industries such as aluminium and steel.
From Barron's
“Successive presidents have shown that America has strategic attention deficit disorder,” Rubin said.
From Los Angeles Times
The administration, in fact, had deeper strategic designs than it could practically advertise though it didn’t hide them either.
This is a strategic opportunity for the U.S. and Israel.
China holds roughly 1.21 billion barrels in its strategic reserves, enough to cover more than 100 days of net crude imports at current levels.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
