STREAK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does streak mean? 

• STREAK (noun)
  The noun STREAK has 4 senses:

1. an unbroken series of events

2. a distinctive characteristic

3. a narrow marking of a different color or texture from the background

4. a sudden flash (as of lightning)

  Familiarity information: STREAK used as a noun is uncommon.

• STREAK (verb)
  The verb STREAK has 3 senses:

1. move quickly in a straight line

2. run naked in a public place

3. mark with spots or blotches of different color or shades of color as if stained

  Familiarity information: STREAK used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STREAK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An unbroken series of events

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

run; streak

Context example:

Nicklaus had a run of birdies

Hypernyms ("streak" is a kind of...):

succession (a group of people or things arranged or following in order)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "streak"):

losing streak (a streak of losses)

winning streak (a streak of wins)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A distinctive characteristic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

a streak of wildness

Hypernyms ("streak" is a kind of...):

characteristic (a distinguishing quality)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A narrow marking of a different color or texture from the background

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

bar; streak; stripe

Context example:

may the Stars and Stripes forever wave

Hypernyms ("streak" is a kind of...):

marking (a pattern of marks)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "streak"):

band; banding; stria; striation (a stripe or stripes of contrasting color)

Derivation:

streak (mark with spots or blotches of different color or shades of color as if stained)

streaky (marked with or as if with stripes or linear discolorations)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A sudden flash (as of lightning)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("streak" is a kind of...):

flash (a sudden intense burst of radiant energy)

• STREAK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they streak    ... he / she / it streaks   
Past simple: streaked   
Past participle: streaked   
-ing form: streaking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move quickly in a straight line

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The plane streaked across the sky

Hypernyms (to "streak" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Run naked in a public place

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "streak" is one way to...):

run (move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue streak

Derivation:

streaker (someone who takes off all their clothes and runs naked through a public place)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Mark with spots or blotches of different color or shades of color as if stained

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

blotch; mottle; streak

Hypernyms (to "streak" is one way to...):

color; color in; colorise; colorize; colour; colour in; colourise; colourize (add color to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

streak (a narrow marking of a different color or texture from the background)

 Context examples 

More commonly, in the second category, bright material is found on the rims of craters, streaking down toward the floors.

(Bright Areas on Ceres Suggest Geologic Activity, NASA)

Then he put him back into the water, and the fish darted straight down to the bottom, and left a long streak of blood behind him on the wave.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

We were both silent for a while; and as I looked towards the window I saw the first dim streak of the coming dawn.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“Seven yards windage, Hal,” said one, whose hair was streaked with gray.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The nebula also is rich in clouds of dust, some of which form long, dark streaks pointing away from the star.

(Hubble Views a Colorful Demise of a Sun-like Star, NASA)

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet.

(NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today's Mars, NASA)

Pluto’s icy plains also display dark streaks that are a few miles long.

(New Horizons Discovers Frozen Plains in the Heart of Pluto’s ‘Heart’, NASA)

The documentary claims expert analysis confirmed these streaks likely signify a large fire in a fuel store.

(UK documentary claims fire weakened RMS Titanic, Wikinews)

Issue associated with an undesired streak, pattern, and/or a noticeable change in color from the rest of the materials used in device construction.

(Discolored Medical Device Material, Food and Drug Administration)

Issue associated with an optical streak or other pattern on the signal surface that causes a noticeable change of color from the rest of the pultruded surface.

(Optical Discoloration Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)