1
: a line or mark of a different color or texture from the ground : stripe
2
a
: the color of the fine powder of a mineral obtained by scratching or rubbing against a hard white surface and constituting an important distinguishing character
b
: inoculum implanted in a line on a solid medium
c
: any of numerous virus diseases of plants (such as tobacco and corn) resembling mosaic but usually producing at least some linear markings
3
a
: a narrow band of light
b
: a lightning bolt
4
a
: a slight admixture : trace
had a mean streak in him
b
: a brief run (as of luck)
c
: a consecutive series
was on a winning streak
5
: a narrow layer (as of fat)
6
: an act or instance of streaking
streaked; streaking; streaks
: to make streaks on or in
tears streaking her face
1
: to move swiftly : rush
a jet streaking across the sky
2
: to have a streak (as of winning or outstanding performances)
3
: to run naked through a public place
streaker
noun
Examples of streak in a Sentence
Noun
He left streaks where he wiped the glass.
The miners had streaks of coal dust on their faces.
a streak of 11 straight victories
Verb
A shooting star streaked across the sky.
A skateboarder streaked past us.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alicia Wallace, CNN, 19 Jan. 2025
The win over O’Malley stretched his winning streak to 11 straight.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
Dan Arritt, Orange County Register, 4 Jan. 2025
Only Devan Dubnyk had longer road point streaks with the Wild.
—Michael Russo, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for streak 
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Noun
During Biden’s time in office, the jobless rate was under 4% for 27 months, a streak not seen since Lyndon B. Johnson was in office, back in the mid-1960s.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 19 Jan. 2025
The win over O’Malley stretched his winning streak to 11 straight.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
Verb
The Highlanders entered the game as the only 3-0 team in the Big West after knocking off Long Beach State on Thursday, but UCI and streaking UC San Diego (13-2, 3-0) now share that distinction.
—Dan Arritt, Orange County Register, 4 Jan. 2025
Only Devan Dubnyk had longer road point streaks with the Wild.
—Michael Russo, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for streak
Dictionary Entries Near streak
Cite this Entry
“Streak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/streak. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
streak
1 of 2 noun1
: a line or mark of a different color or texture from its background : stripe
2
: the color of the fine powder of a mineral obtained by scratching or rubbing against a hard white surface
3
a
: a narrow band of light
b
: a lightning bolt
4
5
: a narrow layer
a streak of fat in bacon
streak
2 of 2 verb1
: to make or have streaks on or in
2
: to move swiftly : rush
a jet streaking across the sky
Medical Definition
streak
1 of 2 noun1
: a usually irregular line or stripe see primitive streak
2
: inoculum implanted (as with a needle drawn across the surface) in a line on a solid medium
streak
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to implant (inoculum) in a line on a solid medium
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