Meaning
To become rich suddenly, usually through luck, a windfall, or a lucky find rather than steady saving. Informal; applied to prospectors, investors, inventors, and anyone whose fortunes appear to change overnight, often with a hint of envy or disbelief. Informal; suggests luck as much as merit and is often used wryly about improbable schemes. Regional use: General English (American origin).
Origin
From mining: Etymonline records that 'strike' had developed the sense 'to come upon, find unexpectedly' by 1835, especially in gold-mining and well-digging, and dates 'strike it rich' itself to 1854. Merriam-Webster's Wordplay feature prints an 1853 example from the Sacramento Steamer Union and states that the phrase entered the language directly from miners' jargon in the middle of the 19th century. The California gold rush made it an American byword, Australian diggers used it in the same years, and it long ago shed the pickaxe: it now covers windfalls from stocks, patents, lotteries, and lucky breaks of every kind.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- hit it rich
- strike gold
- strike it big
- struck it rich
Usage Examples
- Thousands of prospectors streamed into the valley hoping to strike it rich.
- If the biotech firm's patent holds up, its early investors will strike it rich.
- She didn't strike it rich overnight; the bakery took nine years to turn a profit.