strafe

verb

ˈstrāf How to pronounce strafe (audio)
 especially British  ˈsträf
strafed; strafing

transitive verb

: to rake (ground troops, an airfield, etc.) with fire at close range and especially with machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft
strafe noun
strafer noun

Examples of strafe in a Sentence

The planes strafed the town.
Recent Examples on the Web Kid Rock strafed at Bud Light cases with his machine gun (and actually managed to hit a few cans). Barbara Lippert, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2024 While other fighters are confined to a single plane, Tekken allows players to strafe around their opponents, adding deeper dimension to movement. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024 Japanese planes bombed the ship transporting her and strafed the lifeboats. Michael Washburn, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023 Limay and Mantes-la-Jolie became frequent targets of German aerial strafing attacks; at one point a cat Henri was holding was struck, though he was left unharmed. Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2023 Taylor and his wingman began strafing the surrounding enemies with rockets and mini-gun fire, keeping up their attack runs for 35 minutes. Matt Seyler, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2023 July 4 was Earth’s hottest day on record as a heat dome smothered parts of Texas and conditions from El Niño, the infamous climate pattern that provokes stifling heat and harsh rains, began to strafe the West Coast. Jacob Bogage and Eli Tan, Anchorage Daily News, 15 July 2023 In the South, national monuments burned and strafed during the Korean War were rebuilt with precision and fidelity as symbols of national pride. Lauretta Charlton, New York Times, 22 June 2023 These include Patriot missiles, which can target planes or cruise missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which are human portable and especially useful against low-flying targets like attack helicopters or strafing jets, and Avenger air defense systems. Kelsey D. Atherton, Popular Science, 7 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'strafe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

German Gott strafe England may God punish England, German propaganda slogan during World War I

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of strafe was in 1915

Dictionary Entries Near strafe

Cite this Entry

“Strafe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strafe. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

strafe

verb
strafed; strafing
: to fire on at close range and especially with machine guns from low-flying airplanes
strafed the village
strafer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on strafe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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