strike and strive differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. strike means “deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon”. strive means “attempt by employing effort”. strike is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈstɹaɪk/
1.v.deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
“The teacher struck the child”
2.v.have an emotional or cognitive impact upon
“This child impressed me as unusually mature”
3.v.hit against; come into sudden contact with
“The car hit a tree”
/ˈstɹaɪv/
1.v.attempt by employing effort
“we endeavor to make our customers happy”
2.v.to exert much effort or energy
“straining our ears to hear”
| strike | strive | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɹaɪk/ | /ˈstɹaɪv/ |
| Said | strahyk | strahyv |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | verb |
| Senses | 28 | 2 |
| How common | Core | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | endeavor, endeavour |
Full entry for strike · Full entry for strive · More comparisons