< Back to Phrase of the Day

Strike Out


To 'Strike Out' means to fail at something.

Example of use: "Last semester, my assignment was perfect, but I struck out this time."


Interesting fact about Strike Out

Though many believe that the origin of the idiom “strike out” comes from the late 1800s when American baseball was first becoming popular and “striking out” referred to the failure of a batter to put the baseball in play. The term actually has its roots in the early 1500s, when it was used as a term describing the act of canceling or erasing.