# strike out

CEFR B2 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/strike-out
Updated: 2026-10-23

## Definition

to start doing something new or independent, especially to show you can succeed on your own. It can also mean to fail in a game of baseball.

For teachers: to begin a new, independent course of action or career; alternatively, in baseball, to be dismissed after three strikes. The figurative sense of 'starting out' is often used to emphasize independence or a departure from a previous group.

## Examples

- After years at the firm, she decided to strike out on her own.
- Many young artists strike out for the city hoping to find fame and better opportunities.
- Having secured sufficient venture capital, the lead engineer chose to strike out and establish a competing startup in the burgeoning tech sector.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He decided to strike out his own." but "He decided to strike out on his own." — the preposition 'on' is required when using this phrase to mean starting an independent venture.

## Usage notes

- often followed by the prepositional phrase 'on one's own' when describing independence.
- Teaching tip: distinguish between the literal baseball sense (failure) and the figurative entrepreneurial sense (independence); the latter is much more common in business English.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.