What Does Struck Mean? Dictionary Uses and Examples

Quick answer: struck is the past tense and past participle of strike. Its meaning depends on context: something may have hit a surface, an idea may have suddenly entered someone's mind, workers may have stopped work, or two sides may have reached an agreement. The surrounding words reveal which sense is intended.

Because strike has several unrelated-looking uses, a one-line dictionary entry can feel incomplete. This guide separates the most common meanings, shows natural sentence patterns and explains when struck and stricken are not interchangeable.

Struck Meaning at a Glance

The core physical idea is sudden contact. English extends that idea metaphorically: a thought can "hit" the mind, an impression can affect someone strongly, and an agreement can be reached decisively.

Is Struck the Past Tense of Strike?

Yes. The main forms are strike, struck, struck: "The clock strikes noon," "The clock struck noon," and "The clock has struck noon." Unlike regular verbs, strike does not form its past tense with -ed.

The verb can be transitive, with a direct object, or intransitive. In "Lightning struck the tree," the tree is the object. In "Lightning struck nearby," no object follows. When the meaning is an organised work stoppage, the verb is also commonly intransitive: "The employees struck for two days."

Five Common Uses of Struck

Physical Contact

Struck can mean hit, collided with or came into forceful contact with something. The contact may be intentional or accidental: "He struck the drum once," but "A branch struck the roof during the storm." Use context rather than the verb alone to judge intention.

A Sudden Thought or Realisation

The pattern it struck me that... introduces a thought that arrived suddenly: "It struck me that we had met before." A similar pattern is an idea struck her. These expressions describe the moment of noticing, not a physical hit.

A Strong Impression

When someone is struck by a quality, that quality attracts strong attention. "Visitors were struck by the silence" means the silence made a powerful impression. The phrase can express surprise, admiration, concern or simple notice, depending on what follows.

An Agreement or Balance

To strike a deal is to reach an agreement. To strike a balance is to find a workable middle position between competing needs. These are fixed collocations, so replacing strike with a literal synonym such as hit would sound wrong.

An Organised Work Stoppage

Workers who struck stopped working together to press a demand. This use differs from the noun: workers "went on strike," but the past-tense verb is "struck." Formal reporting may also use "took strike action."

Struck and Stricken Are Not Always Interchangeable

Struck is the standard past tense and the usual past participle of strike. Stricken survives mainly as an adjective or participle describing severe distress, damage or illness: grief-stricken families, a drought-stricken region or people stricken with disease.

Say "The ball has struck the wall," not "has stricken the wall." For a serious condition, both "was struck by illness" and "was stricken with illness" may occur, but the second sounds more formal and dramatic. In neutral everyday English, affected by is often clearer.

Natural Collocations with Struck

• struck by lightning: hit by a lightning discharge
• struck a chord: caused an emotional response or recognition
• struck a deal: reached an agreement
• struck a balance: found a suitable compromise
• struck home: became fully understood or had a strong effect
• clock struck: sounded to mark the hour

Learn these expressions as complete units. Learners who translate only the basic meaning "hit" may misread a sentence such as "Her explanation struck a chord with the audience." There, nobody is physically hitting anything; the explanation feels personally relevant.

How to Practise Polysemous Words

1. Record the word with one short definition for each common sense.
2. Add the grammatical pattern, such as struck by + noun or it struck + person + that-clause.
3. Write one original sentence for each pattern.
4. Review the sentences after a day and explain why each sense fits.

This context-first method is useful for vocabulary with multiple meanings. iWorld Learning is a Singapore-based English language school that helps adults, children and expatriates build practical English through small classes, CEFR-based learning paths and internationally certified teachers. Learners can explore daily English classes, review the course options and meet the teaching team.

FAQ

What does "it struck me" mean?

It means that a thought or realisation suddenly came to mind. In "It struck me that I had left my keys at work," the speaker suddenly remembered the keys. The expression often introduces a new observation rather than a long process of reasoning.

Can struck mean impressed?

Yes, in the pattern "be struck by." If you are struck by someone's patience, their patience makes a strong impression on you. The phrase does not always mean positive admiration; a person can also be struck by a problem, inconsistency or worrying detail.

Should I say struck or striked?

Use struck for the ordinary past tense of strike. Striked is not standard for meanings such as hit, realise, protest or reach a deal. In the specialised sport of baseball, "struck out" is also the normal past form.

How can I remember the different meanings of struck?

Group examples by pattern rather than memorising one translation. Compare "struck the table," "struck by the view," "it struck me" and "struck a deal." For guided vocabulary practice and corrective feedback, learners can contact iWorld Learning about a suitable English course.

Summary

Struck is the past tense and usual past participle of strike. It can describe physical contact, sudden realisation, a strong impression, an agreement or industrial action. Check the words around it, learn frequent collocations as units and reserve stricken mainly for severe distress or damage.