stroke

An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.

Noun

  1. An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
    • a stroke on the chin
    • Hee paſſed the vvhole length of Italie vvithout reſiſtance, […] He likevviſe entred and vvonne (in effect) the vvhole Kingdome of Naples it ſelfe, vvithout ſtriking ſtroke. - 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St....
    • But becauſe amongſt many ſtroaks, vvhich our eyes, eares, and other organs receive from external bodies, the predominant onely is ſenſible; therefore the light of the Sun being predominant, vve are not affected vvith...

    Synonyms: beat

    1. An act of striking with a weapon; a blow.

      • Singapore plans to cane scammers and scam mules, with mandatory caning of at least six strokes for scammers and discretionary caning for mules.
      • Their mightie ſtrokes their haberieons diſmayld, / And naked made each others manly ſpalles; […] - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie,...
      • No Perſon vvas puniſhed by Bonds, Strokes, or Death, vvithout the Judgment and Sentence of the Druids: […] - 1695, William Temple, An Introduction to the History of England, London: […] Richard Simpson […], and Ralph...

      Synonyms: beat

    2. A single movement with a tool; also, an impact of a tool on an object.

      • [W]hen a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor, to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a ſtroke with the axe to cut downe the tree, and the head ſlippeth from the helue, and lighteth vpon his neighbour that he die, he...
      • VVith lifted Arms they order ev'ry Blovv, / And chime their ſounding Hammers in a Rovv; / VVith ſtrokes of Anvils Ætna groans belovv. - 1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works...
      • But now no stroke of woodman / Is heard by Auser's rill; […] - 1834–1838 (date written), Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Horatius”, in Lays of Ancient Rome, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], published 1842,...

      Synonyms: beat

    3. The hitting of a bell or similar by the clapper or hammer of a clock; the sound thereof; the time when this occurs.

      • on the stroke of midnight
      • Expect the second [ghost] on the next night at the same hour. The third upon the next night when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate. Look to see me no more; and look that, for your own sake, you remember...
      • Already guarding a 1–0 lead from the first leg, Blackpool inched further ahead when Stephen Dobbie scored from an acute angle on the stroke of half-time. The game appeared to be completely beyond Birmingham's reach...

      Synonyms: beat

    4. (ball games) An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.

      (cricket) The action of hitting the ball with the bat; a shot.

      Synonyms: beat

    5. (ball games) An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.

      (golf) 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.

      Synonyms: beat

    6. (ball games) An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.

      (squash) A point awarded to a player in case of interference or obstruction by the opponent.

      Synonyms: beat

    7. (ball games) An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.

      (tennis) The hitting of a ball with a racket; also, the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.

      Synonyms: beat

  2. A movement similar to that of hitting.
    • the stroke of a bird’s wing in flying

    1. One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.

    2. One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.

      (rowing) 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.

    3. One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.

      (rowing) (by extension) 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.

    4. One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.

      (swimming) A movement of the arms and legs which propels a swimmer through the water; a specific combination of such movements, constituting a swimming style.

      • butterfly stroke
      • Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail,...

    5. A beat or throb, as of the heart or pulse.

      • [I]n true marriage lies / Nor equal, nor unequal: each fulfils / Defect in each, and always thought in thought, / Purpose in purpose, will in will, they grow, / The single pure and perfect animal, / The two-cell'd heart...

      Synonyms: pulsation

    6. (technology) A single movement or thrust of a reciprocating device (such as a piston or connecting rod).

      • For the pistons of a four-stroke engine, the exhaust stroke follows the power stroke.

    7. The length of this movement.

      • The bore times the stroke times the number of cylinders equals displacement.

      Coordinate Terms: bore

    8. A thrust of the penis during sexual intercourse.

  3. An act causing hurt or death, especially when seen as divine punishment.
    • the stroke of death
    • The stroke of God, Aduersyte I hyght; / I pluke downe kynge, prynce, lorde, and knyght, / I rushe at them rughly, and make them ly full lowe, / And in theyr moste truste i make them ouerthrowe. - a. 1530 (date written),...
    • Sheele make you ſhrinke as I did, vvith a ſtroke / But of her eye Tigranes. - 1612 January 5 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Francis Beaumont, Iohn Fletcher, A King and No King. […], London: […] [John Beale]...
  4. A damaging occurrence, especially if sudden; a blow, a calamity.
    • The Abp. [Archbishop] of York [John Dolben] now died of yᵉ small pox, aged 62, a corpulent man. […] I looke on this as a greate stroke to yᵉ poore Church of England, now in this defecting period. - 1686 April 24...
    • T'encreaſe this load, ſome ſycophant-report / Deſtroy'd his int'reſt and good grace at court. / At this one ſtroke the man look'd dead in lavv: / His flatt'rers ſcamper, and his friends vvithdravv. - 1767, [Walter...
    • Tom's whole soul was filled with thoughts of eternity; and while he ministered around the lifeless clay, he did not once think that the sudden stroke had left him in hopeless slavery. - 1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet...
  5. An amount of work; specifically, a large amount of business or work.
    • a stroke of business
    • ["]But I'm gwine, Mas'r George,—gwine to have four dollars a week; and Missis is gwine to lay it all up, to buy back my old man agin!" / "Whew!" said George, "here's a stroke of business, to be sure! How are you going...
  6. A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done or produced; also, something accomplished by such an effort; an achievement, a feat.
    • a stroke of genius
  7. A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
    • Among other branches of ſcience, if one can call it ſo, Mr. [John] Evelyn ſtudied Phyſiognomy, and found diſſimulation, boldneſs, cruelty and ambition in every touch and ſtroke of [Isaac] Fuller's picture of Oliver...

    1. (linguistics, calligraphy, typography) A line making up a written character.

    2. (typography) (computing) In Unicode: the formal name of the individual horizontal strikethroughs (as in "A̶").

    3. (typography) (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) The oblique, slash, or virgule ("/").

      • Subject: Fire. Dear Sir-stroke-Madam: I am writing to inform you of a fire which has broken out at the premises of … No. That's too formal. - 2006 February 3, Graham Linehan, “Calamity Jen”, in The IT Crowd, season 1,...
  8. A distinctive expression in a written composition; a touch.
    • to give some finishing strokes to an essay
  9. Influence; power.
    • [W]here ſoeuer poſſeſſyons be pryuate, where moneye beareth all the ſtroke, it is hard and almoſte impoſſyble that there the weale publyque maye iuſtelye be gouerned and proſperouſlye floryſhe: […] - 1551, Thomas More,...
    • Theſame Alexander, be auiſed and coũſailed, that he ſhould winne and make frendes vnto him, all ſuche perſones both honeſt and vnhoneſt, good and badde, as beare any rule, ſtroke or autoritte, in the commen weale, and...
    • For I find by Experience he has a great Stroke vvith the Reader, vvhen he condemns any of my Poems to make the VVorld have a better Opinion of them. - 1700, [John] Dryden, “Preface”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […],...

    1. (professional wrestling) Backstage influence.

  10. A masterful or effective action.
    • To enable any other piece to effect the decisive stroke, a greater number of facilities, arising either from the coöperation of partisans, or the obstruction of the adverse king by his own pieces, must conspire in...
    • Black gives the opponent and opportunity for a beautiful combination stroke. But his game was anyhow very bad already, for in answer to QR—R sq., which was about his only other alternative, White would have replied...

    Synonyms: masterstroke

  11. A sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain, causing minor to major brain damage and possible death.
    • suffer a stroke

    Synonyms: cerebrovascular accident CVA

  12. An individual discharge of lightning, particularly if causing damage.
    • 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.

Origin

The noun is derived from Middle English strok, stroke (“blow from a weapon, cut”), from Old English strāc, from Proto-West Germanic *straik, from Proto-Germanic *straikaz (“stroke”), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to rub, stroke; to shear; to strike”). Sense 3.6.2.2 (“the oblique, slash, or virgule (‘/’)”) is a contraction of oblique stroke, a variant of oblique which was originally used in telegraphy. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * German Streich (“stroke”) * Middle Low German strēk (“stroke, trick, prank”) * Scots strak, strake, straik (“blow, stroke”)

Forms

strokes stroak

Derived

afterstroke after-stroke antistroke at a single stroke at a stroke at one stroke backstroke bloodstroke bow stroke breast-stroke breaststroke broad strokes brushstroke butterfly stroke buttstroke by-stroke counterstroke crossstroke dead-stroke dead stroke dead-stroke hammer destroke different strokes for different folks downstroke

Noun Entry 2

  1. An act of moving one's hand or an object along a surface in one direction, touching it lightly; a caress.
    • She gave the cat a stroke.
  2. 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.
    • Not providing a stroke to a client can sometimes facilitate the client in becoming aware of their neediness or desire for approval. By not giving a stroke, the client's need is brought to the surface, where it is...
  3. A flattering or friendly act, comment, etc., done or made to a person to influence them.

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...

Forms

strokes

Derived

stroke book stroke house stroke mag vinegar stroke

Verb Entry 3

  1. To draw the horizontal line across the upright part (of the letter t).
  2. 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.
  3. Of a bell or clock: to chime or sound to indicate (the hour, the time, etc.).
  4. To mark (something) with lines or stripes; to stripe.
  5. To hit or kick (the ball) with a flowing or smooth motion; also, to score (a goal, a point, etc.) by doing so.
  6. 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).
  7. 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 stroke a boat
  8. To strike (the water) with one's arms and legs when swimming.
  9. To lengthen the stroke of (an engine) by installing a crankshaft with longer throws.
    • Yes, it's 'only' a small block, but it’s got some tricks up its sleeve — it's been bored, stroked, ported, polished, and fuel-injected.

    Coordinate Terms: bore bore out

  10. To depict (something) with a paintbrush.
  11. 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).
  12. To swim by making co-ordinated movements with the arms and legs.

Forms

strokes stroking stroked

Derived

misstroke prestroke strokee stroke out strokingly

Verb Entry 4

  1. 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.
    • His Majestie began first to touch for yᵉ evil, according to custome, thus: his Maᵗⁱᵉ sitting under his State in yᵉ Banquetting House, the Chirurgeons cause the sick to be brought or led up to the throne, where they...
    • The tender Sire, vvho ſavv her bluſh, and cry, / Aſcrib'd it all to Maiden-modeſty, / And dry'd the falling Drops, and yet more kind, / He ſtroak'd her Cheeks, and holy Kiſſes join'd. - 1700, [John] Dryden, “Cinyras and...
    • The gravity and firmneſs of the mind is conſpicuous in his outvvard demeanor: his ſpeech is ſlovv, vveighty, and conciſe, he is ſeldom provoked to laughter, his only geſture is that of ſtroking his beard, the venerable...

    1. (by extension, vulgar, uncommon, intransitive) To masturbate.

      Synonyms: beat off rub one out abuse bash one out bate beat it crank one out fap frig goon jack off jack it jerk jerk it jerk the gherkin jerk off jerk one off jerk one out jork it knock one out make the bald man cry masturbate mastuprate play pocket pool

  2. To bring (something) to a certain condition by stroking (sense 1).
  3. To give assurance to (someone) through encouragement.
    • [W]hen thou cam'ſt firſt / Thou ſtroakſt me, & made much of me: […] - 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:...
  4. To influence (someone) by convincing or flattering them.

    Synonyms: jolly lay it on thick puff blandander blandish butter up cajole fast-talk canoodle carny coax collogue croodle engle fleech honey around honey up hum ingle inveigle soap soft-sawder soft-soap stroke

  5. 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.
  6. To give a finely fluted surface to (stone) by carving it with a tool.
  7. To sharpen (a knife or other cutting instrument) by honing or rubbing it against a surface.
  8. To soothe (someone); also, to flatter or indulge (someone).

Forms

strokes stroking stroked no-table-tags glossary stroke strokest strokedst stroketh -

Derived

restroke strokable strokeable stroked stroker unstroked