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

British number two Cameron Norrie ended a six-match losing streak with a 6-4-6-1 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Mifel Open in Mexico.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Tucker, who has traditionally hung his hat on his strike-zone control, ended a 12-game streak without a walk Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

There may be something similar with Judge Montgomery-Reeves: She worked closely with the Legal Aid Society’s Prisoners’ Rights project for several years, and I think that may have imparted a civil libertarian streak.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Chey and SK Hynix remain on an epic streak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Sam never shut up and he had a fearless streak that sometimes got all three of them into big trouble.

From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis

Winning streaks bring a life of their own to a clubhouse, each day presenting another opportunity to extend the joy and methodically build a feeling of invincibility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The tiny particles - roughly the size of a grain of sand - vaporise, creating visible streaks of light.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 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

Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 broke five-session losing streaks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

I catch glimpses of gold and white streaks shooting into the air from each of the districts.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Some supporters hurried to work still wearing Spain jerseys, while others had red and yellow face paint streaked across their cheeks.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

The outcome was never in doubt, but at the open-air rally to declare his victory, his new face could be seen streaked with tears.

From BBC ● May 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

They’ve got their shirtsleeves rolled up, their hands and wrists streaked with grease.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

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

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

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026

Then, holding the stick in her left hand, Murphy slid the puck across the ice to her streaking teammate, who promptly banged it into the back of the net.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

In a little over 50 minutes on the pitch, Earl was England's second-highest metre-maker, racking up 77m and streaking in from distance for the game's opening try.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025

Beatriz continued, anger streaking her face with tears.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Related Words

• smear