streak (str k)n.1. A line, mark, smear, or band differentiated by color or texture from its surroundings. 2. An inherent, often contrasting quality: "There was a streak of wildness in him" (Olga Carlisle). 3. A ray or flash of light: the first streaks of dawn; a streak of lightning. 4. Informal a. A brief run or stretch, as of luck. b. An unbroken series, as of wins or losses. 5. Mineralogy The color of the fine powder produced when a mineral is rubbed against a hard surface. Used as a distinguishing characteristic. 6. Botany Any of various viral diseases of plants characterized by the appearance of discolored stripes on the leaves or stems. 7. Microbiology A bacterial culture inoculated by drawing a bacteria-laden needle across the surface of a solid culture medium. v. streaked, streak·ing, streaks v.tr.1. To mark with streaks: rain streaking the pavement. 2. To lighten (strands of hair) with a chemical preparation. 3. Microbiology To inoculate in order to produce a streak. v.intr.1. To form streaks. 2. To be or become streaked. 3. To move at high speed; rush. 4. To run naked in public, especially as a prank.
[Middle English streke, line, from Old English strica; see streig- in Indo-European roots.]
streak er n. Synonyms: streak, strain2, vein These nouns denote an inherent, often unexpected quality, as in a person's character: a streak of humor; a strain of melancholy; a vein of stubbornness. |