strikeout

1 of 2

noun

strike·​out ˈstrīk-ˌau̇t How to pronounce strikeout (audio)
: an out in baseball resulting from a batter's being charged with three strikes

strike out

2 of 2

verb

struck out; struck out also stricken out; striking out; strikes out

intransitive verb

1
: to enter upon a course of action
2
: to set out vigorously
3
: to make an out in baseball by a strikeout
4
: to finish bowling a string with consecutive strikes
specifically : to bowl three strikes in the last frame
5

transitive verb

of a baseball pitcher : to retire (someone) by a strikeout

Examples of strikeout in a Sentence

Verb their joint venture in Las Vegas struck out, and they hurriedly dissolved the partnership struck out all references to indecent matters
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Razorbacks lead the nation with 163 strikeouts and with 14.8 strikeouts per nine innings, a blistering pace. Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 5 Mar. 2024 Harvard-Westlake pitcher Duncan Marsten came through with 10 strikeouts and gave up no hits in six innings against Sierra Canyon. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024 In the second inning, Lyles worked around a leadoff walk and finished with two strikeouts to conclude his outing. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 Mar. 2024 Nardi pitched to a 2.67 ERA with 73 strikeouts against 21 walks over 57 1/3 innings. Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2024 Sunday, Muller made his Cactus League debut and allowed one run with three strikeouts in two innings in Oakland’s 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Glendale, Arizona. Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024 In 130 games with Houston and Chicago, Mancini hit just .210 (84 for 400) with 12 home runs and 122 strikeouts. Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2024 Top prospect Taj Bradley looked good in his first 10 big-league starts, posting a 2.66 FIP and 71 strikeouts in 49 innings – but then the wheels fell off. Jesse Yomtov, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 Additionally, Schreiber recorded a 28.8 strikeout percentage and 7.4 walk percentage. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 Feb. 2024
Verb
In teaming with senior catcher Zara Mineo-Schrank, Weiss struck out a season-high 16. Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 14 Mar. 2024 Jordan Kingston of Calabasas turned in a top pitching performance Monday, limiting Camarillo to three hits while striking out four and walking one in the Coyotes’ 6-0 victory. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 McArthur struck out Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez to clinch a Royals’ series victory. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024 The 6-foot-7 right-hander didn’t allow a hit and struck out three in three innings. Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024 Rogers retired the side in the first inning by getting Jose Altuve to groundout to shortstop, striking out Yordan Alvarez looking on a 95 mph fastball and Alex Bregman to fly out to left field. Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 Hudson worked his way through a scoreless first inning, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out one. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 29 Feb. 2024 Rogers also struck out 6 and scattered 4 hits in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Matt Jones, arkansasonline.com, 26 Feb. 2024 Pacifica 6, Norco 1: In the championship game of the Dave Kops tournament, Brynne Nally struck out seven to lift Pacifica to the title. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1887, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1707, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of strikeout was in 1707

Dictionary Entries Near strikeout

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

strikeout

1 of 2 noun
strike·​out ˈstrī-ˌkau̇t How to pronounce strikeout (audio)
: an out in baseball resulting from a batter's being charged with three strikes

strike out

2 of 2 verb
(ˈ)strī-ˈkau̇t
1
: to enter upon a course of action
struck out on my own after graduation
2
: to make an out or cause to make an out in baseball by a strikeout
the shortstop struck out
the pitcher struck him out with a curve

More from Merriam-Webster on strikeout

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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