stroke

play

verb \ ˈstrōk \

Definition of stroke

stroked; stroking

transitive verb

1 :to rub gently in one direction; also :caress

2 :to flatter or pay attention to in a manner designed to reassure or persuade

—

stroker

noun

Recent Examples of stroke from the Web

Schoop strokes another one Schoop opened the Orioles’ scoring with a missile to left field that went for a two-out solo home run in the first inning, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead and temporarily giving him the team lead with 29 home runs.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Dylan Bundy one-hits Mariners, strikes out 12 as Orioles win sixth straight game, 4-0," 30 Aug. 2017
Collectively, Simons’s first strokes at Calvin Klein both pay homage to and perpetuate the brand’s daring history by inserting something like underwear into the canon of great American art.

— emilia petrarca, The Cut, "Coming of Age at the Calvin Klein Store," 10 Aug. 2017
Nick Williams stroked an RBI double to center in the fourth.

— matt breen, Philly.com, "Zach Eflin comes back strong as Phillies beat Braves," 9 Aug. 2017
Cameron Thompson and Sam Cohen both stroked RBI triples and Chandler Anderson hit an RBI double that inning.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Bucs beat Pilots with 12th-inning homer in ABL playoffs," 3 Aug. 2017
Jose Ramirez stroked his fifth to center for a run-scoring double.

— pedro moura, latimes.com, "Edwin Encarnacion's walk-off grand slam spoils Angels' comeback," 25 July 2017
Both players at times resorted to old-school moon-balls or lobbing the ball deep rather than aggressive ground-stroking.

— harvey fialkov, Sun-Sentinel.com, "French teen de Oliveira overpowers top seed in Clay Court Championships," 20 July 2017
Place a spoon in your refrigerator for eight to 10 minutes before lightly stroking it over the hickey.

— caitlin fay, Cosmopolitan, "6 Surprising Ways to Get Rid of a Hickey," 12 July 2017
Standing in a pile of sawdust stroking a walnut beam, Garlan pointed to worm holes and indents from an ax wielded more than a century ago.

— jennifer kornegay, Southern Living, "On Doorknobs and Why Garlan Gudger Jr. Collects Them," 11 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stroke.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of stroke

Middle English, from Old English strācian; akin to Old High German strīhhan to stroke — more at strike

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

stroke

noun

Definition of stroke

1 :the act of striking; especially :a blow with a weapon or implement

2 :a single unbroken movement; especially :one of a series of repeated or to-and-fro movements

3 a :a controlled swing intended to hit a ball or shuttlecock; also :a striking of the ball

b :such a stroke charged to a player as a unit of scoring in golf

4 a :a sudden action or process producing an impact

a stroke of lightning

b :an unexpected result

a stroke of luck

5 :sudden diminution or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion caused by rupture or obstruction (as by a clot) of a blood vessel of the brain — called also apoplexy, brain attack, cerebrovascular accident

6 a :one of a series of propelling beats or movements against a resisting medium

a stroke of the oar

b :a rower who sets the pace for a crew

7 a :a vigorous or energetic effort by which something is done, produced, or accomplished

a stroke of genius

a brilliant diplomatic stroke

b :a delicate or clever touch in a narrative, description, or construction

8 :heartbeat

9 :the movement in either direction of a mechanical part (such as a piston) having a reciprocating motion; also :the distance of such movement

10 :the sound of a bell being struck

at the stroke of twelve

; also :the specific time indicated by or as if by such a sound

[¹stroke]

:an act of stroking or caressing

12 a :a mark or dash made by a single movement of an implement

b :one of the lines of a letter of the alphabet

— at a stroke

:all at once

spent her savings at a stroke

See stroke defined for English-language learners

Examples of stroke in a Sentence

He had a stroke last winter.
She has a strong backhand stroke.
He is ahead by two strokes.
She swims with long, smooth strokes.
the stroke of an oar
She knows the four basic strokes.

Recent Examples of stroke from the Web

Researchers also tried rTMS in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, tinnitus, and chronic pain.

— meredith wadman, Science | AAAS, "Brain-altering magnetic pulses could zap cocaine addiction," 29 Aug. 2017
Dozens were injured or died of heat stroke waiting in traffic for nearly a full day.

— amy b wang, Washington Post, "Harvey is causing ‘epic catastrophic flooding’ in Houston. Why wasn’t the city evacuated?," 27 Aug. 2017
The article also suggested BPA and BPS can lead to blood clots and strokes, but currently there are no studies correlating the two.

— ashley oerman, Cosmopolitan, "7 Reasons You Should Never Drink Out Of Plastic Water Bottles," 22 Aug. 2017
Recently, with Alex Swayne not yet eligible, Kings lost to Loveland by just five strokes with her younger sister playing in the first group.

— cincinnati enquirer, Cincinnati.com, "Local golfer committed to Clemson," 17 Aug. 2017
She's even dropped strokes from last year just in the first two tournaments.

— paul johnson, Naperville Sun, "Nay Day: Lauren Nay medalist as Naperville North takes McGonagle tourney title," 15 Aug. 2017
Even Kyle Schwarber, who enjoyed instant success in the majors, is trying to rediscover his stroke after missing most of 2016 after knee surgery.

— paul sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "White Sox plan well underway; now it's up to young players to make it work," 21 July 2017
According to the Harford County Health Department, heat illness takes many forms, including heat fatigue, heat syncope (sudden dizziness after exercising in the heat), heat cramps, heat exhaustion or the most serious, heat stroke.

— The Aegis, "Harford libraries open as cooling centers Friday and Saturday," 21 July 2017
A new study in the European Heart Journal found that people who worked long hours were more likely to develop atrial fibrillation, a rapid-heartbeat condition that can lead to strokes and heart failure.

— ashley weatherford, The Cut, "Working Too Much Could Kill You, So Just Go Home Now," 20 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of stroke

Middle English; akin to Old English strīcan to stroke — more at strike

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

stroke Synonyms

Synonyms

bang, bash, bat, beat, belt, biff, bop, box, buffet, bust, chop, clap, clip, clout, crack, cuff, dab, douse [British], fillip, hack, haymaker, hit, hook, knock, larrup [dialect], lash, lick, pelt, pick, plump, poke, pound, punch, rap, slam, slap, slug, smack, smash, sock, spank, stinger, stripe, ¹blow, swat, swipe, switch, thud, thump, thwack, wallop, welt, whack, wham, whop (also whap)

stroke

verb

Definition of stroke

stroked; stroking

transitive verb

1 a :to mark with a short line

stroke the t's

b :to cancel by drawing a line through

stroked out his name

2 :to set the stroke for (a rowing crew); also :to set the stroke for the crew of (a rowing boat)

3 :hit; especially :to propel (a ball) with a controlled swinging blow

intransitive verb

1 :to execute a stroke

2 :to row at a certain number of strokes a minute

Recent Examples of stroke from the Web

Schoop strokes another one Schoop opened the Orioles’ scoring with a missile to left field that went for a two-out solo home run in the first inning, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead and temporarily giving him the team lead with 29 home runs.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Dylan Bundy one-hits Mariners, strikes out 12 as Orioles win sixth straight game, 4-0," 30 Aug. 2017
Collectively, Simons’s first strokes at Calvin Klein both pay homage to and perpetuate the brand’s daring history by inserting something like underwear into the canon of great American art.

— emilia petrarca, The Cut, "Coming of Age at the Calvin Klein Store," 10 Aug. 2017
Nick Williams stroked an RBI double to center in the fourth.

— matt breen, Philly.com, "Zach Eflin comes back strong as Phillies beat Braves," 9 Aug. 2017
Cameron Thompson and Sam Cohen both stroked RBI triples and Chandler Anderson hit an RBI double that inning.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Bucs beat Pilots with 12th-inning homer in ABL playoffs," 3 Aug. 2017
Jose Ramirez stroked his fifth to center for a run-scoring double.

— pedro moura, latimes.com, "Edwin Encarnacion's walk-off grand slam spoils Angels' comeback," 25 July 2017
Both players at times resorted to old-school moon-balls or lobbing the ball deep rather than aggressive ground-stroking.

— harvey fialkov, Sun-Sentinel.com, "French teen de Oliveira overpowers top seed in Clay Court Championships," 20 July 2017
Place a spoon in your refrigerator for eight to 10 minutes before lightly stroking it over the hickey.

— caitlin fay, Cosmopolitan, "6 Surprising Ways to Get Rid of a Hickey," 12 July 2017
Standing in a pile of sawdust stroking a walnut beam, Garlan pointed to worm holes and indents from an ax wielded more than a century ago.

— jennifer kornegay, Southern Living, "On Doorknobs and Why Garlan Gudger Jr. Collects Them," 11 July 2017

First Known Use of stroke

1597

STROKE Defined for English Language Learners

stroke

noun

Definition of stroke for English Language Learners

medical : a serious illness caused when a blood vessel in your brain suddenly breaks or is blocked
: an act of hitting a ball or the movement made to hit a ball during a game
golf : an act of hitting the ball that is counted as part of a player's score

STROKE Defined for Kids

stroke

play

verb \ ˈstrōk \

Definition of stroke for Students

stroked; stroking

:to rub gently in one direction

I stroked the dog's head.

stroke

noun

Definition of stroke for Students

1 :the act of striking :blow

the stroke of a whip

2 :one of a series of repeated movements (as in swimming or rowing)

3 :a sudden serious illness caused by the breaking or blocking of an artery in the brain

4 :the sound of striking (as of a clock or bell)

the stroke of midnight

5 :the hitting of a ball in a game (as golf or tennis)

6 :a sudden or unexpected example

a stroke of luck

7 :a single movement or the mark made by a single movement of a brush, pen, or tool

8 :a sudden action or process that results in something being struck

a stroke of lightning

9 :effort by which something is done or the results of such effort

It was a stroke of genius.

Medical Dictionary

stroke

play

noun \ ˈstrōk \

medical Definition of stroke

:sudden impairment or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion that is caused by rupture or obstruction (as by a clot) of a blood vessel supplying the brain and is accompanied by permanent damage of brain tissue

Note: Symptoms of stroke include numbness or weakness on one side of the body or face, confusion, impaired speech or vision, loss of coordination or balance, trouble walking, or severe headache. The most common type of stroke, ischemic stroke, results from a narrowed or blocked blood vessel, while hemorrhagic stroke results from a ruptured blood vessel. A very brief interruption of blood supply to the brain usually without lasting effects is called a ministroke or a transient ischemic attack.

… people at risk for stroke should be evaluated for surgery to open up blockages in the arteries of the neck.
—Jay Siwek, The Washington Post, 22 June 1999