stroke out

verb

stroked out; stroking out; strokes out

transitive + intransitive

: to suffer a stroke (see stroke entry 2 sense 5) or to cause (someone) to suffer a stroke

For a moment he was absolutely sure he was going to stroke out, have a heart attack, or both.

—Stephen King

Owen has been overwhelmed as he is still trying to slide into the fatherhood groove, so adding another baby into the mix could cause Owen to stroke out.

—Miami News-Record

… four hours of Godsmack and Korn will leave a dance floor empty. Not only that, but you might stroke out Grandma.

—Mark McGuire

Examples of stroke out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Perez, who finished one stroke out of a bronze medal at last year’s Olympics, has never finished better than tied for 12th in a major. 7. —Justin Ray, New York Times, 14 June 2025

With this grip, the lymph channels can be gently and correctly stroked out of the lymph nodes in their natural course. —Desireé Oostland, Vogue, 30 July 2024

The Aztecs are tied for ninth, 13 strokes out of fifth place. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2024

Alas, her function was to appear weak and easily startled — so much so that her character might stroke out if the film’s central deception was revealed. —Carmel Dagan, Variety, 4 Jan. 2024

The Beavers are one stroke out of fifth, a key target as the top five teams after 54 holes advance from regionals to the NCAAs, May 24-29 in Scottsdale, Arizona. —oregonlive, 16 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stroke out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout