Link Centre Dictionary

stroke

UK/stɹəʊk/ US/stɹoʊk/ common uk us
noun (10) verb (4)

noun

1.

(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 require good balance and tempo”
  • “he left me an almost impossible shot”
Synonyms
2.

the maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam

Synonyms
3.

a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain

Synonyms
4.
5.

a light touch with the hands

Synonyms
6.

the oarsman nearest the stern of the shell who sets the pace for the rest of the crew

7.
8.

a mark made by a writing implement (as in cursive writing)

9.

any one of the repeated movements of the limbs and body used for locomotion in swimming or rowing

10.

verb

1.

touch lightly and with affection, with brushing motions

  • “He stroked his long beard”
Synonyms
2.

strike a ball with a smooth blow

3.
4.

treat gingerly or carefully

  • “You have to stroke the boss”

Origin

The verb is derived from Middle English stroken, straken (“to caress, fondle, pat, rub, smooth, stroke; to pass something over (someone or something); to brush or rub against;”) [and other forms], from Old English strācian (“to stroke”), from Proto-West Germanic *straikōn (“to caress, stroke”), from *straik (“a line, stroke; a dash”) (see further at etymology 1) + *-ōn (suffix forming verbs from nouns). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * German streicheln (“to stroke, fondle”) * German Low German straken, strieken, strakeln, striekeln (“to stroke; caress; fondle”) * Middle Low German strēken, Middle Dutch strēken (modern Dutch streeken) * Old High German strīhhan, streihhōn, Middle High German strīchen (modern German streichen (“to stroke; to rub; to spread; to apply; to paint; to cancel; to cross out, strike out; to delete; to discard”)) * Saterland Frisian strookje (“to stroke; caress”) * West Frisian streakje (“to stroke; caress”)

Phrases

  • at a single stroke
  • at a stroke
  • at one stroke
  • bow stroke
  • broad strokes
  • butterfly stroke
  • dead stroke
  • dead-stroke hammer
  • stroke book
  • stroke house
  • stroke mag
  • stroke out

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.