A striker is a player in sports like soccer or hockey whose main job is to score goals. The striker plays near the opponent's goal, looking for opportunities to kick or hit the ball past the goalkeeper. When a team needs a goal late in the game, everyone watches their striker, hoping they'll find a way to score.

The word captures what these players do: they strike at the goal, attacking aggressively. A good striker needs speed, accuracy, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. They need to recognize the perfect moment to shoot, knowing when to be patient and when to take their chance. In soccer, legendary strikers like Pelé or Mia Hamm could score from positions that seemed impossible.

The word also appears outside sports. Workers go on strike when they stop working to protest unfair treatment, and the strikers are the workers who are striking. You might also encounter striker in other contexts: the striker on a bell is the small hammer that hits it to make it ring, and the striker on a lighter is the part that creates a spark.