strike up

British  

verb

1. (of a band, orchestra, etc) to begin to play or sing

2. (tr) to bring about; cause to begin

   to strike up a friendship

3. (tr) to emboss (patterns, etc) on (metal)

---

Example Sentences

We strike up a conversation, and, come to find out, she’s Muscogee Freedmen.

From Literature

She’ll want to strike up a conversation, which will blow my cover.

From Literature

Subsequently striking up a friendship with Charles Babbage, an inventor and mechanical engineer, Lovelace would become fascinated with his plans to build a complicated calculating machine.

From BBC

Explore by meeting colleagues who work in other areas by working on cross-departmental projects, joining employee resource groups or simply striking up conversations in the office kitchen.

From MarketWatch

He strikes up an unlikely bond with Israeli passenger Amir, a lost soul in his early 20s played by Ido Tako, which leads Hassan to reflect on roads not taken in his own life.

From Barron's