Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To attack (ground troops, for example) with a machine gun or cannon from a low-flying aircraft.
- noun An attack of machine-gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.
- verb transitive, video games to
sidestep ; to move sideways without turning. A core mechanic of mostfirst-person shooters . - noun An attack of machine-gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft.
- noun video games A sideways movement without turning.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb attack with machine guns or cannon fire from a low-flying plane
- noun an attack of machine-gun fire or cannon fire from a low flying airplane
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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One was shot in the leg and another bayoneted through the hip, and all were sent back to camp, where they were awarded six weeks in the punishment camp, known as the strafe barracks.
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Some days we would "strafe" him with trench mortars; on others we would give him a touch of our artillery.
Over the top with the 25th Chronicle of events at Vimy Ridge and Courcellette R. Lewis
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I _won't_, it's sheer waste -- still, I suppose one ought to be prepared -- oh, yes, give them one -- give them the word 'strafe'; nobody's got that.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, November 7, 1917 Various
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On this occasion the usual stoppages and checks were multiplied by a brisk artillery 'strafe' upon the front, accompanied by all manner of coloured lights and rockets.
The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Geoffrey Keith Rose
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One night was marked by a very intense "strafe" for a short time with rifle grenades and trench mortars.
The Story of the 6th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry France, April 1915-November 1918 Ralph Bignell Ainsworth
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When this playful little "strafe" was removed by an order from Hanover the accumulated parcels nearly caused the death of the Germans working in the distributing room.
'Brother Bosch', an Airman's Escape from Germany Gerald Featherstone Knight
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I glanced up at the pollard willow over head, against which I had been leaning to steady my field glasses as I watched our artillery "strafe" the Germans who were attacking the Ghurkas.
"The Red Watch" With the First Canadian Division in Flanders John Allister Currie
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Almost every afternoon, about 4-30 p.m., the usual trench mortar "strafe" would commence, and would last for an hour or so.
The Story of the "9th King's" in France Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts
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It's true that he does jolly good work when the Huns 'strafe' his wire and he has to go out and mend it, but he doesn't go forward in an attack; he sits in his dug-out and telephones like blazes for reinforcements while the Germans pepper his roof for him with 'whizz-bangs.'
Mud and Khaki Sketches from Flanders and France Vernon Bartlett 1938
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When a concentration begins on a battery, either the gunners must go to their dugouts or run beyond the range of the shells until the "strafe" is over.
My Second Year of the War Frederick Palmer 1915
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