strafe

From German strafe (“punish”) (a conjugated form of strafen), from phrases like Gott strafe England (“God punish England”) which the British saw during the First World War.^[1][2]

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /stɹeɪf/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (less commonly also) IPA^(key): /stɹɑf/, /stɹæf/
• Rhymes: -eɪf

strafe (third-person singular simple present strafes, present participle strafing, simple past and past participle strafed)

1. (transitive, military, aviation) To attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.
   • 1929, Frank Thone, “‘Thinking Machine’ Aims Guns”, in The Science News-Letter‎^[1], volume 16, number 437, pages 107-09:

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

2. (transitive, military, by extension) To rake (a target) with rapid or automatic gunfire.
   • 2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 20:16 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN)‎^[2], archived from the original on 17 October 2022:

     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. (transitive, military, figurative) To reprimand severely.
   • 1933, Thomas Clement Lonergan, “Private 19022”, in The Military Engineer‎^[3], volume 23, number 132, page 582:

     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. (intransitive, video games) To sidestep; to move sideways without turning (a core mechanic of most first-person shooters).
   • 1992, id Software, Wolfenstein 3D (game manual), page 4:

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

   • 2001, Jana Hallford, Swords and circuitry: a designer's guide to computer role playing games:

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

   • 2007, Stephen Cawood, Pat McGee, Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creator's Guide:

     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.

strafe (plural strafes)

1. (World War I) A heavy artillery bombardment.
   • 1917, H.Thoburn-Clarke, “Nesting Mothers of Battle Zone: Bird Life Where Cannons Roar”, in Current History‎^[4], volume 6, number 1, page 142:

     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. (video games) A sideways movement without turning.
   • 2004, Marc Saltzman, Game Creation and Careers: Insider Secrets from Industry Experts:

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

• afters, farest, faster, freats

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃtʁaːfə/

• Audio:

  (file)

strafe

1. first-person singular and imperative of strafen