streak

[streek]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR streak ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a long, narrow mark, smear, band of color, or the like: streaks of mud.

a portion or layer of something, distinguished by color or nature from the rest; a vein or stratum: streaks of fat in meat.

a vein, strain, or admixture of anything: a streak of humor.

Informal.

a spell or run: a streak of good luck.
an uninterrupted series: The team had a losing streak of ten games.

a flash leaving a visible line or aftereffect, as of lightning; bolt.

Mineralogy. the line of powder obtained by scratching a mineral or rubbing it upon a hard, rough white surface, often differing in color from the mineral in the mass, and serving as an important distinguishing character.

Plant Pathology.

an elongated, narrow, superficial lesion on stems or leaf veins, becoming brown and necrotic.
any disease characterized by such lesions.

verb (used with object)

to mark with a streak or streaks; form streaks on: sunlight streaking the water with gold; frost streaking the windows.

to lighten or color (strands of hair) for contrastive effect.

to dispose, arrange, smear, spread, etc., in the form of a streak or streaks: to streak cold germs on a slide for microscopic study.

verb (used without object)

to become streaked.

to run, go, or work rapidly.

to flash, as lightning.

to make a sudden dash in public while naked, especially as a prank.

Nearby words

Idioms

blue streak. blue streak.

Origin of streak

before 1000; (noun) Middle English streke, akin to strike, Old English strica stroke, line, mark; cognate with German Strich, Gothic striks stroke, Latin strigil strigil; (v.) late Middle English streken to cross out, derivative of the noun (akin to strike, stroke¹)

SYNONYMS FOR streak

3. cast, touch, element, trace.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR streak ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

streaked·ly

[streekt-lee, stree-kid-lee] /ˈstrikt li, ˈstri kɪd li/, adverbstreaked·ness, nounstreak·er, nounstreak·like, adjective

in·ter·streak, verb (used with object)un·streaked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for streak

It was clear to me that at least at the end of his life the Dionysian streak was trying to get out.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In fact, the original Burroughs books possess a clear “green” streak that now seems quite prescient.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?|Ted Gioia|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In fact, she knew the correct answer 92 percent of the time she buzzed in during her 20-game streak.
Jeopardy! Champion Julia Collins’s Brain Feels Like Mush|Sujay Kumar|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But what both men had in common was a streak of rugged individualism, stubbornness, and personal vision.
The Fight to Ban ‘Birth of a Nation’|Jack Schwartz|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

For many, the streak of eccentric adventure is the fun of it all.
So You Want to Rule a Kingdom? A Wacky History of One-Man Nations|Nina Strochlic|July 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fronteras is the other side of the water—that streak of olive green with reddish shadow.
The Treasure of Pearls|Gustave Aimard
When Streak got the word he leaped forward at a pace that gave Williams an idea of how he had gained his name.
Square Deal Sanderson|Charles Alden Seltzer
There is a streak of blood on his chin but he is still laughing.
The Outrage|Annie Vivanti
There would have been no opportunity to save Soapy, even if Streak had obeyed his master.
Square Deal Sanderson|Charles Alden Seltzer
But he grew robust for half a century, and writes, at seventy-five, that he has now "a streak of old age."
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 96, October 1865|Various

British Dictionary definitions for streak

streak

noun

a long thin mark, stripe, or trace of some contrasting colour

(of lightning) a sudden flash
(as modifier)streak lightning

an element or trace, as of some quality or characteristic

a strip, vein, or layerfatty streaks

a short stretch or run, esp of good or bad luck

mineralogy the powdery mark made by a mineral when rubbed on a hard or rough surface: its colour is an important distinguishing characteristic

bacteriol the inoculation of a solid culture medium by drawing a wire contaminated with the microorganisms across it

informal an act or the practice of running naked through a public place

verb

(tr) to mark or daub with a streak or streaks

(intr) to form streaks or become streaked

(intr) to move rapidly in a straight line

(intr) informal to run naked through a crowd of people in a public place in order to shock or amuse them

Derived Formsstreaked, adjectivestreaker, nounstreaklike, adjective

Word Origin for streak

Old English strica, related to Old Frisian strike, Old High German strih, Norwegian, Swedish strika

noun

a variant spelling of strake (def. 2)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for streak

streak

Old English strica "line of motion, stroke of a pen" (related to strican "pass over lightly," see strike), from Proto-Germanic *strikon (cf. Middle Low German streke "stroke, line," Old High German, German strich, Gothic striks "stroke, line"), from PIE root *streig- (see strigil). Sense of "long, thin mark" is first found 1567. Meaning "a temporary run (of luck)" is from 1843.

streak

1768, "to go quickly, to rush, run at full speed," respelling (by association with streak (n.)) of streek "to go quickly" (late 14c.), originally "to stretch oneself" (mid-13c.), a northern Middle English variant of stretch (v.). Streaking "running naked in public" first recorded 1973.

Medicine definitions for streak

streak

[strēk]

n.

A line, stripe, smear, or band differentiated by color or texture from its surroundings.

Science definitions for streak

streak

[strēk]

The characteristic color of a mineral after it has been ground into a powder. Because the streak of a mineral is not always the same as its natural color, it is a useful tool in mineral identification.

A bacterial culture inoculated by drawing a bacteria-laden needle across the surface of a solid culture medium. Also called streak plate

Any of various viral diseases of plants characterized by the appearance of discolored stripes on the leaves or stems.

Idioms and Phrases with streak

streak

see like greased lightning (a blue streak); talk someone's arm off (a blue streak); winning streak.

streak

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Examples from the Web for streak

streak

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Word Origin for streak

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