streak

American  

[streek] / strik /

noun

streaks plural

1. a long, narrow mark, smear, band of color, or the like.

   streaks of mud.

2. a portion or layer of something, distinguished by color or nature from the rest; a vein or stratum.

   streaks of fat in meat.

3. a vein, strain, or admixture of anything.

   a streak of humor.

   Synonyms:

   trace, element, touch, cast

4. Informal.

   1. a spell or run.

      a streak of good luck.

   2. an uninterrupted series.

      The team had a losing streak of ten games.

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

6. 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.

7. Plant Pathology.

   1. an elongated, narrow, superficial lesion on stems or leaf veins, becoming brown and necrotic.

   2. any disease characterized by such lesions.

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verb (used with object)

streaks, present (3rd person singular) streaked, past participle, past streaking present participle

1. to mark with a streak or streaks; form streaks on.

   sunlight streaking the water with gold; frost streaking the windows.

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

3. 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)

streaks, present (3rd person singular) streaked, past participle, past streaking present participle

1. to become streaked.

2. to run, go, or work rapidly.

3. to flash, as lightning.

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

idioms

1. blue streak. blue streak.

streak ¹ British  

/ striːk /

noun

1. a variant spelling of strake

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streak ² British  

/ striːk /

noun

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

2. 1. (of lightning) a sudden flash

   2. ( as modifier )

      streak lightning

3. an element or trace, as of some quality or characteristic

4. a strip, vein, or layer

   fatty streaks

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

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

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

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

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verb

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

2. (intr) to form streaks or become streaked

3. (intr) to move rapidly in a straight line

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

streak Scientific  

/ strēk /

1. 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.

2. A bacterial culture inoculated by drawing a bacteria-laden needle across the surface of a solid culture medium.

3. Also called streak plate

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

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streak More Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• streakedness
  noun
• streaker
  noun
• interstreak
  verb (used with object)
• streaked
  adjective
• streaklike
  adjective
• unstreaked
  adjective
• streakedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• streaks
  plural

Participles

• streaking
  present
• streaked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• streak
  simple
• streaks
  simple
• have streaked
  perfect
• has streaked
  perfect
• am streaking
  progressive
• are streaking
  progressive
• is streaking
  progressive
• have been streaking
  perfect progressive
• has been streaking
  perfect progressive

Past

• streaked
  simple
• had streaked
  perfect
• was streaking
  progressive
• were streaking
  progressive
• had been streaking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will streak
  simple
• will have streaked
  perfect
• will be streaking
  progressive
• will have been streaking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of streak

First recorded before 1000; (for the noun) Middle English streke, akin to strike, Old English strica “stroke, line, mark”; cognate with German Strich, Gothic striks “stroke”; akin to Latin strigil strigil; (for the verb) late Middle English streken “to cross out,” derivative of the noun; cf. strike, stroke ¹

Explanation

A streak is a mark or characteristic. What makes you keep trying to wipe the streak of permanent marker off the white couch — your clean streak or your stubborn streak? Like a mark or stain, a streak in a person is a characteristic or strain that runs through them — like a mean streak. The noun streak can also refer to an unbroken chain of events — you’ll want a lucky streak to keep going and a losing streak to come to a quick end. As a verb, to streak means to dash, sometimes without clothes. If you talk a blue streak, you’ve got a lot to say, very quickly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

streak streaks streaked streaking

Before the June streak, the neocloud’s stock hadn’t seen a losing stretch of at least five sessions since early March.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Eurozone industrial output in May snapped a three-month streak of resilient activity in the face of higher energy costs following the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Spain clinched a berth to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Both were mavericks, and Graham 1.0 had an independent streak.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

I’ve always sensed that he has a mild mean streak, but, well, at least I’ll get really buff.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

Two irritating streaks of American futility were over—but the U.S. adventure at its home World Cup wasn’t ending yet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Speaking of streaks, when Lionel Messi came off the bench to score in the group finale, it gave him goals in a record seven consecutive World Cup games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Soot streaks the walls, while suitcases and clothes remain buried beneath dust, rubble and twisted steel.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

Stocks declined, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set to snap nine-week winning streaks amid rising odds of Fed rate hikes.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

The planes were leaving long black streaks across the sky.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Trump stood to attention as the "Star Spangled Banner" played and even attempted a greeting in Turkish -- before Turkish fighter jets streaked overhead trailing red, white and blue smoke.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

While these are in many respects traditional songs, this is music that hits you on a subliminal level, where a series of major traumas and minor victories fuse into a bleak worldview streaked with hope.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

The top shatters just slightly under a knife, giving way to a plush, chocolate-saturated center streaked with melted pockets.

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026

But as the group stepped outside to head to another nearby venue, something unusual streaked across the night sky.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

She brushed past the others and streaked across the flooded parking lot, churning up a wake like a fleeing speedboat.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Every night around the world, thousands of automated sky cameras watch for flashes of light streaking across the atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026

ET on Wednesday, leaving plumes streaking across the sky as its boosters and engines fired away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

Palestinians in east Jerusalem regularly film rockets streaking through the sky from their rooftops.

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026

Meteors are so named when matter enters Earth's atmosphere and often make a spectacular appearance as they burns and create streaking lights through the sky.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2025

She went after him, stumbling and running and half falling down the next steps, which went to a little dam, and then streaking over the meadow.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen

Related Words

• smear