How to use strafe in a sentence

17 example sentences · verb, noun

Strafe means to attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft. Example: “These should be especially useful against low-flying planes that "strafe" infantry and transport columns with machine-gun fire and light bombs.”

Examples of strafe by meaning

verbTo attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.

These should be especially useful against low-flying planes that "strafe" infantry and transport columns with machine-gun fire and light bombs.1929, Frank Thone, “‘Thinking Machine’ Aims Guns”, in The Science News-Letter, volume 16, number 437, pages 107-09

verbTo reprimand severely.

You will get an officer sometimes fu'l of shout and swank, an' 'e 'll put 'em through it, an' strafe 'em, an' walk off parade feelin' that 'e 'as put the fear o' God into 'em.1933, Thomas Clement Lonergan, “Private 19022”, in The Military Engineer, volume 23, number 132, page 582

verbTo sidestep; to move sideways without turning (a core mechanic of most first-person shooters).

Strafe — Press the Alt key and the left or right Arrow key to slide side to side instead of turning left or right.1992, id Software, Wolfenstein 3D (game manual), page 4
If the NPC is close to the player, he may also try using the tried-and-true Quake circle-strafing technique.2001, Jana Hallford, Swords and circuitry: a designer's guide to computer role playing games
A strafe is a side-to-side camera movement.2007, Stephen Cawood, Pat McGee, Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creator's Guide

nounA heavy artillery bombardment.

They were unfortunate, for a well-aimed shell during a German evening strafe demolished the apple tree and the nest.1917, H.Thoburn-Clarke, “Nesting Mothers of Battle Zone: Bird Life Where Cannons Roar”, in Current History, volume 6, number 1, page 142

nounA sideways movement without turning.

We also have added a new game control called the "defensive strafe," in which the user can press a button and stay facing forward.2004, Marc Saltzman, Game Creation and Careers: Insider Secrets from Industry Experts

More sentences with strafe

A deluge of Ben Franklins, Ulysses Grants, and Andrew Jacksons strafed the ground.2004, Peter Plate, chapter 23, in Fogtown: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Seven Stories Press, →ISBN, page 156. From the entry Ulysses Grant
They strafed Shihshou and along the eastern shore of the great Tungting Lake.[1980, Wanda Cornelius, Thayne Short, “The Twenty-third Fighter Group: November-December 1943”, in Ding Hao: America's Air War in China…. From the entry Shishou
Lieutenant (junior grade) KERRY immediately maneuvered his craft through several strafing runs which completely silenced the enemy.1969, E.R. Zumwalt, Jr., Silver Star Citation - John Kerry. From the entry completely
During these operations a strafing run was made over the area prior to the bombing run.1944, US Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Amphibious Operations: Invasion of the Marianas, Washington DC: US Fleet Headquarters of…. From the entry strafing run
Once there, he took cover beneath a truck as unchallenged Zeros strafed the neatly parked MAG-21 aircraft and the base facilities.2010, Eric Hammel, Coral and Blood: The U.S. Marine Corps’ Pacific Campaign, page 55. From the entry hotfoot
A group of three P-38 Lightnings bomb supply depots at Tayeh and strafe warehouses and barracks at Yangsin.2008, Keith D. Dickson, World War II Almanac (Almanacs of American Wars), volume 1, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 269. From the entry Tayeh
That vehicle was incapacitated when, during a strafing attack by American planes, its driver neglected to set its brakes before decamping, and the bus crashed into a stone wall.2021 July 22, E.J. Kahn, Jr., Jock: The Life and Times of John Hay Whitney, Plunkett Lake Press. From the entry decamp
With their uncorked engine exhaust snarling, the B-25s zoomed over the twin spires of the impressive white cathedral and strafed several supply dumps alongside the waterfront.2013, Bruce Gamble, Target: Rabaul, →ISBN, page 155. From the entry uncorked
I saw death winkle life from shells, dive on cradle, burrow and bed, strafe roadfuls of refugees on the run from their cold bread-ovens, their blood-spattered streets.2007, Deirdre Brennan, Ag Eitilt Fara Condair, Syracuse University Press, →ISBN, page 77. From the entry roadful
The lack of a second analog stick makes aiming and strafing somewhat difficult, though the game compensates by including an “aim assist” feature to help wayward shots find their mark.2007 October, Ryan Burke, “Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, by Activision, 2007, $39.99.”, in Military History, volume 24, number 7, Weider…. From the entry aim assist

Meaning of strafe

verb To attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.
verb To rake (a target) with rapid or automatic gunfire.
verb To reprimand severely.

Full definition of strafe

Questions about strafe in a sentence

How do you use strafe in a sentence?: Strafe is used as a verb and noun. For example: “These should be especially useful against low-flying planes that "strafe" infantry and transport columns with machine-gun fire and light bombs.”
What is a short sentence with strafe?: “A strafe is a side-to-side camera movement.”
What does strafe mean?: Strafe means to attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.

Adapted from Wiktionary: strafe (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use strafe in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/strafe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.