strafe

IPA/streɪf/
KK[strˈef]IPA/streɪf/

strafe — verb

  • strafepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • strafeshe / she / it
  • strafedpast simple
  • strafing-ing form

1. to fire at soldiers, vehicles, or buildings from a plane or helicopter flying ve

1.verbtransitiveC2
Definition

to fire at soldiers, vehicles, or buildings from a plane or helicopter flying very low over them

Example

Enemy planes strafed the trucks crossing the bridge at dawn.

collocation: strafe + trucks / vehicles

Villagers ran for cover when the helicopter strafed the market square.

pattern: strafe + place from aircraft

Common collocations
  • strafe a convoy
  • strafe a runway
  • strafe a village
  • strafe enemy positions
Synonyms
  • bombard

    Broader — can involve bombs, shells, or repeated heavy attack, not specifically low-flying gunfire

  • machine-gun

    Names the weapon rather than the attack pattern from low aircraft

  • rake

    Formal and less common; focuses on sweeping a target with repeated fire

Antonyms
  • defend

    To protect a place or group instead of attacking it from the air

  • shield

    To cover or protect someone from attack

Grammar Patterns

strafe + ground target

Usage Note

Usually used in military writing or reporting. The subject is normally an aircraft or pilot, and the direct object is a target on the ground such as a convoy, road, runway, or building.

Common Mistakes

The soldiers strafed from the bridge.
The planes strafed the bridge.
'strafe' normally describes aircraft firing at a ground target, so the target is the direct object.
The jets strafed the city with bombs.
The jets bombed the city.
'strafe' refers to low-flying gun or cannon fire, not dropping bombs.

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Use 'strafe' when an aircraft flies low and fires at people or targets on the ground. 'Bombard' is broader and often suggests heavier or repeated attack with bombs, shells, or other weapons, so it does not tell you the attacker is flying low. 'Machine-gun' can describe the weapon used, but it does not automatically suggest the fast pass over a road or convoy that 'strafe' often does. 'Rake' is more formal and literary, with attention on sweeping fire across a target. A report might say jets strafed a bridge, while artillery bombarded the town later.

bombard ↗machine-gunrake ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • strafe run

Adverbs

Phrases

  • strafe the convoy
  • strafe the road

Etymology

GermanEnglish

English borrowed 'strafe' from German during the First World War. The German verb meant 'punish', and English later narrowed it to the idea of punishing a ground target with low-flying gunfire from aircraft.

First known use

1915

1915, in the meaning defined above