streak
streak
/striːk/
1 a long, thin mark or line that is a different colour from the surface it is on
There was a streak of blood on his face.
She had a few streaks of grey in her black hair.
The sooty rain left dirty streaks on the window.
streaks of sunlight
The last streaks of light faded from the sky.
There were dark streaks down her cheeks where she had been crying.
Collocations
adjective
preposition
streak of
phrases
a streak of lightning
a streak of red, white, etc.
2 a part of a person’s character, especially an unpleasant part
a ruthless/vicious/mean streak
a streak of cruelty
Holidays in the Australian outback are for those with an adventurous streak.
Most of the players have a strong competitive streak.
She suddenly revealed a mean streak in her character.
There was a streak of eccentricity in the family.
trips for those with an adventurous streak
Collocations
adjective
verb + streak
preposition
with a streak
streak of
3 a series of successes or failures, especially in a sport or in gambling
a streak of good luck
to hit (= have) a winning streak
to be on a winning/losing streak
a lucky/unlucky streak
The Yankees continued their six-game winning streak.
The team has been on a winning streak since it won against Lazio.
Collocations
adjective
verb + streak
be on
go on
streak
/striːk/
1 transitive to mark or cover something with streaks streak something Tears streaked her face.
She's had her hair streaked (= had special chemicals put on her hair so that it has attractive coloured lines in it).
streak something with something His face was streaked with mud.
The sunset streaked the sky with brilliant colours.
2 intransitive + adv./prep. to move very fast in a particular direction A car pulled out and streaked off down the road.
She streaked home in under 54 seconds.
A police car streaked by, lights flashing.
Some kind of animal leaped out of the grass and streaked across the meadow.
3 intransitive (+ adv./prep.) (informal) to run through a public place with no clothes on as a way of getting attention Word Origin
Old English strica, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch streek and German Strich, also to strike. The sense ‘run naked’ was originally US slang.
e.g.