strafe — English Dictionary

Verb

1. To attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   These should be especially useful against low-flying planes that "strafe" infantry and transport columns with machine-gun fire and light bombs.

2. To rake (a target) with rapid or automatic gunfire.

   Usage

   • broadly
   • Transitive

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Laffey, fresh off from strafing Hiei, ran straight into a quarter of the Japanese navy's remaining destroyers, and, along with Kirishima, between gunfire and another successful Type 93 torpedo strike that tore off the ship's stern, the hapless destroyer was left drifting, ablaze, and would eventually sink.

3. To reprimand severely.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Transitive

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   You will get an officer sometimes fu'l of shout and swank, an' 'e 'll put 'em through it, an' strafe 'em, an' walk off parade feelin' that 'e 'as put the fear o' God into 'em.

4. To sidestep; to move sideways without turning (a core mechanic of most first-person shooters).

   Usage

   • Intransitive

   Examples

   Strafe — Press the Alt key and the left or right Arrow key to slide side to side instead of turning left or right.

   If the NPC is close to the player, he may also try using the tried-and-true Quake circle-strafing technique.

   More examples (1)

   A strafe is a side-to-side camera movement. If you're a fan of first-person shooter games, you know how fundamental strafing can be to a game.

Noun

1. A heavy artillery bombardment.

   Usage

   • World-War-I

   Examples

   They were unfortunate, for a well-aimed shell during a German evening strafe demolished the apple tree and the nest.

2. An attack of machine-gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft.

3. A sideways movement without turning.

   Examples

   We also have added a new game control called the "defensive strafe," in which the user can press a button and stay facing forward.

Noun

1. an attack of machine-gun fire or cannon fire from a low flying airplane

   Broader terms

   attackonslaughtonsetonrush

   Examples

   the next morning they carried out a strafe of enemy airfields

Verb

1. attack with machine guns or cannon fire from a low-flying plane

   Broader terms

   attackassail

   Examples

   civilians were strafed in an effort to force the country's surrender