strafing

Verb

strafe (third-person singular simple present strafes, present participle strafing, simple past and past participle strafed)

1. (transitive) To 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
2. (broadly, transitive) To rake (a target) with rapid or automatic gunfire.
   • Laffey, fresh off from strafing Hiei, ran straight into a quarter of the Japanese navy's remaining destroyers, and, along with Kirishima, between gunfire and another successful Type 93 torpedo strike that tore off the ship's stern, the hapless destroyer was left drifting, ablaze, and would...2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 20:16 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 17 Oct 2022
3. (figuratively, transitive) To 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
4. (intransitive) To 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

See all 7 meanings of strafe