strafe

American  

[streyf, strahf] / streɪf, strɑf /

verb (used with object)

strafed, strafing

1. to attack (ground troops or installations) by airplanes with machine-gun fire.

2. Slang. to reprimand viciously.

---

verb (used without object)

strafed, strafing

1. (of a player character in a video game) to move sideways while keeping a target in view, rather than turning the body to face the character’s destination in a regular forward movement.

noun

1. a strafing attack.

strafe British  

/ strɑːf, streɪf /

verb

1. to machine-gun (troops, etc) from the air

2. slang to punish harshly

---

noun

1. an act or instance of strafing

Other Word Forms

• strafer noun
• unstrafed adjective

Etymology

Origin of strafe

First recorded in 1910–15; from German strafen “to punish”

Example Sentences

Hemsley and his fellow insurance CEOs also recently faced down testy members of Congress in two House hearings, taking a critical strafing from lawmakers of both parties.

From The Wall Street Journal

Aladdin Sane, with his face strafed by a scarlet firebolt edged in blue, blue, electric blue, is quintessential Bowie iconography.

From Salon

Watching Lyonne’s heroine tap dance away from strafing fire gets old pretty fast, but at least Johnson and his writers realize that.

From Salon

The rain blew harder, strafing the windows, and as brother and sister talked, at times teasing one another, they suggested they were learning that life comes in increments of loss and renewal.

From Los Angeles Times

The first, on Aug. 12, 2026, will start above Greenland, then strafe the west coast of Iceland and move along the Atlantic Ocean and over Spain.

From New York Times

Related Words

• assault
• blockade
• bomb
• bombard
• harass
• invade
• loot
• overrun
• plunder
• ransack
• rob
• storm
• swoop