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English definition of “stroke”

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noun uk   /strəʊk/ us    /stroʊk/

stroke noun (ILLNESS)

B2 [C] a sudden change in the blood supply to a part of the brain, sometimes causing a loss of the ability to move particular parts of the body: She suffered/had a stroke that left her unable to speak.
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stroke noun (MARK)

C2 [C] (a line or mark made by) a movement of a pen or pencil when writing or a brush when painting: a brush stroke With a few bold strokes, she signed her name. [C] UK used in spoken English to mean an oblique or slash symbol

stroke noun (HIT)

[C] an act of hitting a ball when playing a sport: She returned the volley with a powerful stroke to win the game. [C] old-fashioned an act of hitting someone with a weapon: The punishment was 20 strokes of the lash.

stroke noun (SWIMMING)

C1 [C] (a particular movement that is usually repeated in) a method of swimming: What's your best stroke when you're swimming?

stroke noun (EVENT)

a stroke of luck, genius, etc. C2 something that happens or succeeds suddenly because of luck, intelligence, etc.: By a stroke of luck, someone else was walking along the path and heard my shouts for help.

stroke noun (WORK)

[S] informal a small amount of work: She's been gossiping and hasn't done a stroke (of work) all morning.

stroke noun (ACTION)

[C] a quick, forceful action: Ending negotiations was seen as a bold stroke by many commentators. By computerizing we could, at a (single)/in one stroke, improve efficiency and reduce costs.

stroke noun (CLOCK SOUND)

[C] one of the sounds that some clocks make at particular times, especially by ringing a bell once for each number of the hour: How many strokes did you count?

stroke noun (TOUCH)

[C] an act of moving your hand, another part of the body, or an object gently over something or someone, usually repeatedly and for pleasure: Don't be frightened, just give the horse a stroke.


verb [T] uk   /strəʊk/ us    /stroʊk/

stroke verb [T] (TOUCH)

B2 to move a hand, another part of the body, or an object gently over something or someone, usually repeatedly and for pleasure: Stroke the dog if you like, it won't bite. She lovingly stroked Chris's face with the tips of her fingers.
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stroke verb [T] (HIT)

to hit a ball: The batsman stroked the ball effortlessly to the boundary.
(Definition of stroke from the Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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