Meaning & use
streaker
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Meaning
nouncountableinformal
Someone who runs without any clothes through a public place or event, often as a joke or to get attention.
Grammar: Countable: a streaker ran onto the field.
Patterns
- a streaker at something
- a streaker on something
A streaker ran across the pitch and the match was stopped for a minute.
The crowd cheered when the streaker was finally caught by a steward.
Police arrested a streaker who had jumped onto the stage.
Word forms
| plural | streakers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a lone streaker
- A lone streaker caused a stir at the cricket match.
- a streaker invades the pitch
- A streaker invaded the pitch in the second half.
- chase a streaker
- Two stewards chased the streaker across the grass.
- arrest a streaker
- Officers arrested the streaker outside the stadium.
- a streaker at the game
- There was a streaker at the game last night.
Synonyms and how they differ
- exhibitionist
- Exhibitionist is a broader and more critical word for someone who shows off, and it can have a more serious meaning than a streaker's prank.
- prankster
- Prankster describes anyone who plays jokes, while a streaker is a specific kind of prank involving nudity.
Word family
Commonly confused: streaker or streak?
streaker vs streak
A streak is a long thin mark or a series of wins, while a streaker is a person who runs naked in public.
Practice
The football match was briefly stopped when a ___ ran onto the pitch wearing nothing at all.
Choose one answer.
A streaker is a person who runs naked in public. A striker is a football player who would be wearing a kit, so it is the tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “streaker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.