Strategic

How to spell strategic

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce strategic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does strategic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a carefully planned approach designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.

Strategic in a sentence

• The board approved a strategic plan for the next five years.

• Placing the recycling bins near the exit was a strategic decision.

Where does strategic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek stratēgos, meaning 'an army general' or 'commander', which was itself built from stratos 'army' and agein 'to lead', so the literal idea was someone who leads the troops. From that came the Greek adjective stratēgikos, 'belonging to a general', covering the planning and large-scale movements that generals were responsible for. The term passed into French as stratégique and into English in the early nineteenth century, at first squarely in the military sense of long-range planning for a whole campaign. Over time the meaning broadened well beyond warfare, so today a business plan, a chess move, or a seating arrangement can all be described as strategic. The same stratos root still hangs on inside the noun 'strategy', and remembering that pair helps fix the single 't' and the -tegic ending that catch people out.

How the word is built

• strateg- (from Greek stratēgos: army general)
• -ic (adjective suffix)