stroke

View Synonyms

[ UK /stɹˈə‍ʊk/ ]
[ US /ˈstɹoʊk/ ]

VERB

treat gingerly or carefully
You have to stroke the boss
row at a particular rate
strike a ball with a smooth blow
touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
He stroked his long beard

NOUN

the oarsman nearest the stern of the shell who sets the pace for the rest of the crew
(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
a good shot requires good balance and tempo
he left me an almost impossible shot
the maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam
anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause
the pregnancy was a stroke of bad luck
it was due to an accident or fortuity
winning the lottery was a happy accident
any one of the repeated movements of the limbs and body used for locomotion in swimming or rowing
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 with the hands
a mark made on a surface by a pen, pencil, or paintbrush
she applied the paint in careful strokes
(golf) the unit of scoring in golf is the act of hitting the ball with a club
Nicklaus won by three strokes
a light touch
a single complete movement
a punctuation mark (/) used to separate related items of information

Top Definitions Examples

How To Use stroke In A Sentence

A painful red stroke appeared on her chest as the sword grazed her skin.
It kinks, detaches itself from actin, unkinks, and reattaches, and thereby ratchets along the actin filament in a series of power strokes.
As a youngster growing up a small Mississippi town, Bob Dudley was a swimming prodigy with one of the speediest backstrokes in the state. New BP boss Bob Dudley 'doesn't need to fake his empathy for the Gulf coast'
A good backstroker knows how many strokes to take when they see the flags before flipping over onto their stomachs for the flip turn.
She's particularly good at breaststroke and backstroke. Times, Sunday Times
A similar best ever 2.57.68 saw Jonathan Sayer fourth in the 200 backstroke.
A range of events featuring freestyle, butterfly, sidestroke, backstroke and medley races saw the kids battle for supremacy as to who would be the king and queen of the pool in their age groups and for their swimming club.
Molly won a bronze medal in the 200 meter backstroke, swimming a lifetime best of 2:16.42.
In the open gala, Amy Clayden produced superb form to claim gold in the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle and a silver in the individual medley.
The year 1956 was momentous for British backstroke swimming. Times, Sunday Times

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