strafe

Meaning

1. To attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.
2. To rake (a target) with rapid or automatic gunfire.
3. To reprimand severely.
4. To sidestep; to move sideways without turning (a core mechanic of most first-person shooters).
5. A heavy artillery bombardment.
6. An attack of machine-gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft.
7. A sideways movement without turning.

Etymology / origin

Borrowed 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.

Related words

Sources

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