To strike a balance

Strike Strike, v. t. [imp. {Struck}; p. p. {Struck}, {Stricken}({Stroock}, {Strucken}, Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Striking}. Struck is more commonly used in the p. p. than stricken.] [OE. striken to strike, proceed, flow, AS. str[=i]can to go, proceed, akin to D. strijken to rub, stroke, strike, to move, go, G. streichen, OHG. str[=i]hhan, L. stringere to touch lightly, to graze, to strip off (but perhaps not to L. stringere in sense to draw tight), striga a row, a furrow. Cf. {Streak}, {Stroke}.] 1. To touch or hit with some force, either with the hand or with an instrument; to smite; to give a blow to, either with the hand or with any instrument or missile. [1913 Webster]

He at Philippi kept His sword e'en like a dancer; while I struck The lean and wrinkled Cassius. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. To come in collision with; to strike against; as, a bullet struck him; the wave struck the boat amidships; the ship struck a reef. [1913 Webster]

3. To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a force to; to dash; to cast. [1913 Webster]

They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two sideposts. --Ex. xii. 7. [1913 Webster]

Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow. --Byron. [1913 Webster]

4. To stamp or impress with a stroke; to coin; as, to strike coin from metal: to strike dollars at the mint. [1913 Webster]

5. To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate; to set in the earth; as, a tree strikes its roots deep. [1913 Webster]

6. To punish; to afflict; to smite. [1913 Webster]

To punish the just is not good, nor strike princes for equity. --Prov. xvii. 26. [1913 Webster]

7. To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or notify by audible strokes; as, the clock strikes twelve; the drums strike up a march. [1913 Webster]

8. To lower; to let or take down; to remove; as, to strike sail; to strike a flag or an ensign, as in token of surrender; to strike a yard or a topmast in a gale; to strike a tent; to strike the centering of an arch. [1913 Webster]

9. To make a sudden impression upon, as by a blow; to affect sensibly with some strong emotion; as, to strike the mind, with surprise; to strike one with wonder, alarm, dread, or horror. [1913 Webster]

Nice works of art strike and surprise us most on the first view. --Atterbury. [1913 Webster]

They please as beauties, here as wonders strike. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

10. To affect in some particular manner by a sudden impression or impulse; as, the plan proposed strikes me favorably; to strike one dead or blind. [1913 Webster]

How often has stricken you dumb with his irony! --Landor. [1913 Webster]

11. To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a stroke; as, to strike a light. [1913 Webster]

Waving wide her myrtle wand, She strikes a universal peace through sea and land. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

12. To cause to ignite; as, to strike a match. [1913 Webster]

13. To make and ratify; as, to strike a bargain. [1913 Webster]

Note: Probably borrowed from the L. f[oe]dus ferrire, to strike a compact, so called because an animal was struck and killed as a sacrifice on such occasions. [1913 Webster]

14. To take forcibly or fraudulently; as, to strike money. [Old Slang] [1913 Webster]

15. To level, as a measure of grain, salt, or the like, by scraping off with a straight instrument what is above the level of the top. [1913 Webster]

16. (Masonry) To cut off, as a mortar joint, even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle. [1913 Webster]

17. To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly; as, my eye struck a strange word; they soon struck the trail. [1913 Webster]

18. To borrow money of; to make a demand upon; as, he struck a friend for five dollars. [Slang] [1913 Webster]

19. To lade into a cooler, as a liquor. --B. Edwards. [1913 Webster]

20. To stroke or pass lightly; to wave. [1913 Webster]

Behold, I thought, He will . . . strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. --2 Kings v. 11. [1913 Webster]

21. To advance; to cause to go forward; -- used only in past participle. ``Well struck in years.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

{To strike an attitude}, {To strike a balance}. See under {Attitude}, and {Balance}.

{To strike a jury} (Law), to constitute a special jury ordered by a court, by each party striking out a certain number of names from a prepared list of jurors, so as to reduce it to the number of persons required by law. --Burrill.

{To strike a lead}. (a) (Mining) To find a vein of ore. (b) Fig.: To find a way to fortune. [Colloq.]

{To strike a ledger} or {To strike an account}, to balance it.

{To strike hands with}. (a) To shake hands with. --Halliwell. (b) To make a compact or agreement with; to agree with.

{To strike off}. (a) To erase from an account; to deduct; as, to strike off the interest of a debt. (b) (Print.) To impress; to print; as, to strike off a thousand copies of a book. (c) To separate by a blow or any sudden action; as, to strike off what is superfluous or corrupt.

{To strike oil}, to find petroleum when boring for it; figuratively, to make a lucky hit financially. [Slang, U.S.]

{To strike one luck}, to shake hands with one and wish good luck. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.

{To strike out}. (a) To produce by collision; to force out, as, to strike out sparks with steel. (b) To blot out; to efface; to erase. ``To methodize is as necessary as to strike out.'' --Pope. (c) To form by a quick effort; to devise; to invent; to contrive, as, to strike out a new plan of finance. (d) (Baseball) To cause a player to strike out; -- said of the pitcher. See {To strike out}, under {Strike}, v. i.

{To strike sail}. See under {Sail}.

{To strike up}. (a) To cause to sound; to begin to beat. ``Strike up the drums.'' --Shak. (b) To begin to sing or play; as, to strike up a tune. (c) To raise (as sheet metal), in making diahes, pans, etc., by blows or pressure in a die.

{To strike work}, to quit work; to go on a strike. [1913 Webster]