stroke means an act of hitting; a blow, a hit. It carries an Arena rating of 1504, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, stroke ranks #90 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #255 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #895 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,178 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
stroke is pronounced /stɹəʊk/.
Why “stroke” is a great word
A single, deliberate application of force or movement, typically to strike or touch. From Middle English strok, stroke, from Old English strāc, from Proto-West Germanic *straik, from Proto-Germanic *straikaz ("stroke"), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ("to rub, stroke; to strike"). Unlike a “blow,” which implies a sudden, damaging impact, or a “caress,” which suggests only gentle affection, a stroke is the fundamental unit of measured action: it is the carpenter’s hammer-fall that sinks a nail, the artist’s loaded brush that leaves its mark on canvas, and the oar’s deep pull through resisting water. It is the paradox of human touch, where force and form meet in a gesture that changes the world by increments.
Etymology
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”)
noun
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.e.g.“a stroke on the chin”
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.; An act of striking with a weapon; a blow.e.g.“Singapore plans to cane scammers and scam mules, with mandatory caning of at least six strokes for scammers and discretionary caning for mules.”
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.; A single movement with a tool; also, an impact of a tool on an object.
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.; The hitting of a bell or similar by the clapper or hammer of a clock; the sound thereof; the time when this occurs.e.g.“on the stroke of midnight”
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.; An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.; The action of hitting the ball with the bat; a shot.
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.; An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.; 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.
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.; An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.; A point awarded to a player in case of interference or obstruction by the opponent.
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.; An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.; The hitting of a ball with a racket; also, the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.
- A movement similar to that of hitting.; One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.e.g.“the stroke of a bird’s wing in flying”
- A movement similar to that of hitting.; One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.; 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.
- A movement similar to that of hitting.; One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.; 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.
- A movement similar to that of hitting.; One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.; A movement of the arms and legs which propels a swimmer through the water; a specific combination of such movements, constituting a swimming style.e.g.“butterfly stroke”
- A movement similar to that of hitting.; A beat or throb, as of the heart or pulse.
- A movement similar to that of hitting.; A single movement or thrust of a reciprocating device (such as a piston or connecting rod).e.g.“For the pistons of a four-stroke engine, the exhaust stroke follows the power stroke.”
- A movement similar to that of hitting.; The length of this movement.e.g.“The bore times the stroke times the number of cylinders equals displacement.”
- An act of moving one's hand or an object along a surface in one direction, touching it lightly; a caress.e.g.“She gave the cat a stroke.”
- 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.
- A flattering or friendly act, comment, etc., done or made to a person to influence them.
verb
- To draw the horizontal line across the upright part (of the letter t).
- 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.
- Of a bell or clock: to chime or sound to indicate (the hour, the time, etc.).
- To mark (something) with lines or stripes; to stripe.
- To hit or kick (the ball) with a flowing or smooth motion; also, to score (a goal, a point, etc.) by doing so.
- 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).
- 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).e.g.“to stroke a boat”
- To strike (the water) with one's arms and legs when swimming.
- To lengthen the stroke of (an engine) by installing a crankshaft with longer throws.e.g.“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.”
- To depict (something) with a paintbrush.
- 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).
- To swim by making co-ordinated movements with the arms and legs.
- 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.
- 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.; To masturbate.
- To bring (something) to a certain condition by stroking (sense 1).
- To give assurance to (someone) through encouragement.
- To influence (someone) by convincing or flattering them.
- 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.
- To give a finely fluted surface to (stone) by carving it with a tool.
- To sharpen (a knife or other cutting instrument) by honing or rubbing it against a surface.
- To soothe (someone); also, to flatter or indulge (someone).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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