punch vs strike

punch

verb
  • To thrust against; to poke. 

  • To employ a punch to create a hole in or stamp or emboss a mark on something. 

  • To strike with one's fist. 

  • To enter (information) on a device or system. 

  • To herd. 

  • To mark a ticket. 

  • To make holes in something (rail ticket, leather belt, etc) 

  • To operate (a device or system) by depressing a button, key, bar, or pedal, or by similar means. 

  • In winemaking, to perform pigeage: to stamp down grape skins that float to the surface during fermentation. 

  • To hit (a ball or similar object) with less than full force. 

noun
  • A mechanism for punching holes in paper or other thin material. 

  • A hole or opening created with a punch. 

  • Impact. 

  • Any of various riodinid butterflies of the genus Dodona of Asia. 

  • An extension piece applied to the top of a pile; a dolly. 

  • A prop, as for the roof of a mine. 

  • Power, strength, energy. 

  • A device, generally slender and round, used for creating holes in thin material, for driving an object through a hole in a containing object, or to stamp or emboss a mark or design on a surface. 

  • A hit or strike with one's fist. 

  • A blow from something other than the fist. 

  • A beverage, generally containing a mixture of fruit juice and some other beverage, often alcoholic. 

strike

verb
  • To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate. 

  • To hit. 

  • To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a force to; to dash; to cast. 

  • To create an impression. 

  • To cut off (a mortar joint, etc.) even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle. 

  • To affect by a sudden impression or impulse. 

  • To sound by percussion, with blows, or as if with blows. 

  • To haul down or lower (a flag, mast, etc.) 

  • To make a sudden impression upon, as if by a blow; to affect with some strong emotion. 

  • To balance (a ledger or account). 

  • To dismantle and take away (a theater set; a tent; etc.). 

  • To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly. 

  • To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a stroke. 

  • To become attached to something; said of the spat of oysters. 

  • To stroke or pass lightly; to wave. 

  • To act suddenly, especially in a violent or criminal way. 

  • To impress, seem or appear (to). 

  • To capitulate; to signal a surrender by hauling down the colours. 

  • To level (a measure of grain, salt, etc.) with a straight instrument, scraping off what is above the level of the top. 

  • To impinge upon. 

  • To discover a source of something, often a buried raw material such as ore (especially gold) or crude oil. 

  • To pass with a quick or strong effect; to dart; to penetrate. 

  • To touch; to act by appulse. 

  • To manufacture, as by stamping. 

  • To make and ratify. 

  • To deliver a quick blow or thrust; to give blows. 

  • To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or notify by audible strokes. Of a clock, to announce (an hour of the day), usually by one or more sounds. 

  • To cause to ignite by friction. 

  • To delete or cross out; to scratch or eliminate. 

  • To set off on a walk or trip. 

  • To score a goal. 

  • To punish; to afflict; to smite. 

  • To carry out a violent or illegal action. 

  • To unfasten, to loosen (chains, bonds, etc.). 

  • To stop working as a protest to achieve better working conditions. 

noun
  • A nibble on the bait by a fish. 

  • In an option contract, the price at which the holder buys or sells if they choose to exercise the option. 

  • The strike plate of a door. 

  • A cancellation postmark. 

  • An iron pale or standard in a gate or fence. 

  • The primary face of a hammer, opposite the peen. 

  • An instrument with a straight edge for levelling a measure of grain, salt, etc., scraping off what is above the level of the top; a strickle. 

  • A status resulting from a batter swinging and missing a pitch, or not swinging at a pitch when the ball goes in the strike zone, or hitting a foul ball that is not caught. 

  • The status of being the batsman that the bowler is bowling at. 

  • The act of knocking down all ten pins in on the first roll of a frame. 

  • An old English measure of corn equal to the bushel. 

  • A blow or application of physical force against something. 

  • A work stoppage (or otherwise concerted stoppage of an activity) as a form of protest. 

  • The compass direction of the line of intersection between a rock layer and the surface of the Earth. 

  • The discovery of a source of something. 

  • A puddler's stirrer. 

How often have the words punch and strike occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )