stroke

Plural: strokes

Noun

• (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
  • "it took two strokes to get out of the bunker"
• the maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam
• a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain
• a light touch
• a light touch with the hands
• (golf) the unit of scoring in golf is the act of hitting the ball with a club
  • "Nicklaus won by three strokes"
• the oarsman nearest the stern of the shell who sets the pace for the rest of the crew
• anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause
  • "the pregnancy was a stroke of bad luck"
• a punctuation mark (/) used to separate related items of information
• a mark made on a surface by a pen, pencil, or paintbrush
  • "she applied the paint in careful strokes"
• any one of the repeated movements of the limbs and body used for locomotion in swimming or rowing
• a single complete movement
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• An act of striking with a weapon; a blow.
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• A single movement with a tool; also, an impact of a tool on an object.
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• The hitting of a bell or similar by the clapper or hammer of a clock; the sound thereof; the time when this occurs.
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.
• The action of hitting the ball with the bat; a shot.
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.
• A single act of striking at the ball with a club; also, at matchplay, a shot deducted from a player's score at a hole as a result of a handicapping system.
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.
• A point awarded to a player in case of interference or obstruction by the opponent.
• An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
• An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.
• The hitting of a ball with a racket; also, the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.
• A movement similar to that of hitting.
• One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.
• A movement similar to that of hitting.
• One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.
• The movement of an oar or paddle through water: either the cycle of movement as a whole, or the propelling phase (as opposed to the return); the manner in which such movements are made; a rowing style.
• A movement similar to that of hitting.
• One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.
• The rower nearest the stern of the boat, the movement of whose oar sets the rhythm for the other rowers; the position in the boat occupied by this rower.
• A movement similar to that of hitting.
• One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.
• A movement of the arms and legs which propels a swimmer through the water; a specific combination of such movements, constituting a swimming style.
• A movement similar to that of hitting.
• A beat or throb, as of the heart or pulse.
• A movement similar to that of hitting.
• A single movement or thrust of a reciprocating device (such as a piston or connecting rod); the length of this movement.
• A movement similar to that of hitting.
• A single movement or thrust of a reciprocating device (such as a piston or connecting rod); the length of this movement.
• A thrust of the penis during sexual intercourse.
• An act causing hurt or death, especially when seen as divine punishment.
• A damaging occurrence, especially if sudden; a blow, a calamity.
• An amount of work; specifically, a large amount of business or work.
• A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done or produced; also, something accomplished by such an effort; an achievement, a feat.
• A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
• A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
• A line making up a written character.
• A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
• In Unicode: the formal name of the individual horizontal strikethroughs (as in "A̶").
• A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
• The oblique, slash, or virgule ("/").
• A distinctive expression in a written composition; a touch.
• Influence; power.
• Influence; power.
• Backstage influence.
• A masterful or effective action.
• A sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain, causing minor to major brain damage and possible death.
• An individual discharge of lightning, particularly if causing damage.
• An individual social interaction whereby one gives another attention or recognition.
• The effect or result of a striking; affliction or injury; a bruise or wound; soreness.
• Chiefly in to have a good stroke: appetite.
• A sudden attack of any illness, especially if causing loss of consciousness or movement, or when fatal.
• A bow or pluck of a string or strings of a stringed instrument; also, the manner in which a musical instrument is played; hence, a melody, a tune.
• An act of moving one's hand or an object along a surface in one direction, touching it lightly; a caress.
• A gesture of assurance given as encouragement; specifically (psychoanalysis) in transactional analysis: a (generally positive) reaction expressed to a person which fulfils their desires or needs.
• A flattering or friendly act, comment, etc., done or made to a person to influence them.

Verb

Verb Forms: stroked, stroking, strokes

• To rub gently or caress with the hand.
• touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
  • "He stroked his long beard"
• strike a ball with a smooth blow
• row at a particular rate
• treat gingerly or carefully
  • "You have to stroke the boss"
• To draw the horizontal line across the upright part (of the letter t).
• Followed by out or through: to draw a line or lines through (text) to indicate that it is deleted; to cancel, to strike or strike out.
• Of a bell or clock: to chime or sound to indicate (the hour, the time, etc.).
• To mark (something) with lines or stripes; to stripe.
• To hit or kick (the ball) with a flowing or smooth motion; also, to score (a goal, a point, etc.) by doing so.
• Of a rower or a crew: to row at (a rate of a certain number of strokes (“movements of the oar through water”) per minute).
• To act as the stroke (“rower who is nearest the stern of the boat, the movement of whose oar sets the rowing rhythm for the other rowers”) of (a boat or its crew).
• To strike (the water) with one's arms and legs when swimming.
• To depict (something) with a paintbrush.
• Chiefly followed by out: to suffer loss of brain function when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted; to have a stroke (noun sense 4).
• To swim by making co-ordinated movements with the arms and legs.
• To move one's hand or an object (such as a broom or brush) along (a surface) in one direction, touching it lightly; to caress.
• To move one's hand or an object (such as a broom or brush) along (a surface) in one direction, touching it lightly; to caress.
• To masturbate with a penis.
• To bring (something) to a certain condition by stroking.
• To give assurance to (someone) through encouragement.
• To influence (someone) by convincing or flattering them.
• To milk (a cow or other animal); especially, to squeeze the teat of (a cow, etc.) to extract the last bit of milk from the udder; to strap (dialectal), to strip.
• To give a finely fluted surface to (stone) by carving it with a tool.
• To sharpen (a knife or other cutting instrument) by honing or rubbing it against a surface.
• To soothe (someone); also, to flatter or indulge (someone).

Examples

• A flash of lightning may be made up of several strokes. If they are separated by enough time for the eye to distinguish them, the lightning will appear to flicker.
• a stroke of apoplexy
• a stroke of business
• a stroke of genius
• a stroke on the chin
• butterfly stroke
• For the pistons of a four-stroke engine, the exhaust stroke follows the power stroke.
• He would STROKE his chin thoughtfully, trying to visualize where his tiles might fit on the Scrabble board.
• In Singapore, acts of vandalism like graffiti are punishable by 3 to 8 strokes of the cane in addition to imprisonment.
• on the stroke of midnight
• She gave the cat a stroke.
• suffer a stroke
• the stroke of a bird’s wing in flying
• the stroke of death
• to give some finishing strokes to an essay
• to stroke a boat

Synonyms

accident, apoplexy, cam stroke, cerebrovascular accident, chance event, CVA, diagonal, fortuity, separatrix, shot, slash, solidus, stroking, throw, virgule, beat, masterstroke, pulsation

Anagrams of stroke