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 right-hander gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings with four strikeouts. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024 O’Brien made the Triple-A all-star team with Tacoma last summer after posting a 2.29 ERA with 15 saves and 86 strikeouts in 55 innings. Michael Lycklama, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2024 Razorbacks pitchers also lead the country in strikeouts per nine innings (13.3), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.13) and WHIP (1.04). Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 9 Apr. 2024 The Rockies were the only team not to have a pitcher record nine or more strikeouts in a game over the 2022-23 seasons. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2024 The Ole Miss commit allowed two runs in four innings with one hit, five walks and seven strikeouts. Michael Huntley, Orange County Register, 5 Apr. 2024 The Dons won 11-4 and extended their perfect start to 7-0. Facing a Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division opponent that entered the game averaging 20 runs per game, Dixon got 11 of her strikeouts via a swing-and-miss. Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024 Lugo allowed two hits and registered four strikeouts. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024 Luzardo wound up striking out Brenton Doyle to strand the two runners and cap arguably the best start of his MLB career — seven innings (tying a career high), 13 strikeouts (a career high), one run on four hits and two walks, 115 pitches (a career high). Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
Verb
Botticelli also struck out three to escape any blemish and finished with five consecutive strikeouts. Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024 Taj Brar started and struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024 Royals starter Michael Wacha took the loss, allowing two runs in six innings and striking out four. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024 Meanwhile, Prospect freshman Jeremy Wang allowed just two hits and struck out three. Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024 Foothill relief pitcher Adam Ujiie got the first two outs of the seventh inning and UC San Diego signee Garrett Davidson struck out the last hitter to earn the save. Michael Huntley, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024 James McArthur, the Royals’ fourth relief pitcher of the day, struck out Dominic Fletcher with two men on to end the game and earn the save. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2024 Mike Yastrzemski struck out with the tying run on third, extending his hitless streak to start the season to 11 at-bats. Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024 Dylan Volantis struck out 10 with no walks in five scoreless innings. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 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 23 Apr. 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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