Definition of first strike
: a preemptive nuclear attack
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Recent Examples of first strike from the Web
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Months after Hurricane Maria first struck the Caribbean, the island of Puerto Rico continues to contend with its impact.
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Dzeko's first strike for Roma against Napoli this weekend was also actually his 300th career goal for club and country.
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Putin stressed on Thursday that these new nuclear deployment systems were designed with defensive purposes in mind and that Russia would never launch a nuclear first strike.
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Security experts used to worry that a hair-trigger launch was needed to deter a first strike by an enemy: our instant reactions would ensure that our opponent would feel catastrophic consequences of aggression.
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Drivers organized the first strike in more than 20 years in December 2016 when changes to their compensation were first proposed, but many are now quitting after seeing their pay drop by one-third.
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Salah tied Fernando Torres' record of 33 goals in a single season with his first strike against the Hornets just four minutes after kick-off.
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The good-looking, 6-foot-6 aristocrat, who was a descendant of tapestry weavers, first struck out on his own in 1952 after having worked for Elsa Schiaparelli.
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The motorist who first struck the man was driving a Kia Optima in a southbound collector-distributor lane at about 3:10 a.m., according to the Washington State Patrol.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'first strike.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of first strike
1956
FIRST STRIKE Defined for English Language Learners
first strike
Definition of first strike for English Language Learners
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: a nuclear attack against an enemy before the enemy can attack
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