stroke
noun /strəʊk/
/strəʊk/
Idioms - [countable] an act of hitting a ball, for example with a bat or racket
- What a beautiful stroke!
- He won by two strokes (= in golf, by taking two fewer strokes than his opponent).
- He played some powerful backhand strokes throughout the game.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fast
- quick
- slow
- …
- play
- by a stroke, two strokes, etc.
- a stroke, two strokes, etc. ahead
- a stroke, two strokes, etc. behind
- [countable] a single movement of the arm when hitting somebody/something
- His punishment was six strokes of the cane.
- [countable] stroke (of something) a single successful action or event
- Your idea was a stroke of genius.
- It was a stroke of luck that I found you here.
- It was a bold stroke to reveal the identity of the murderer on the first page.
- She never does a stroke (of work) (= never does any work).
- I had a sudden stroke of inspiration.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- sudden
- have
- at a stroke
- at one stroke
- stroke of
- …
- a stroke of bad luck
- a stroke of fortune
- a stroke of good fortune
- …
- [countable, uncountable] a sudden serious illness when a blood vessel (= tube) in the brain bursts (= breaks open) or is blocked, which can cause death or the loss of the ability to move or to speak clearly
- to have/suffer a stroke
- The stroke left him partly paralysed.
- Smoking increases the risk of stroke.
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessc1- She had a massive stroke and lost her speech.
- This regimen substantially reduces the risks of recurrent stroke.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- acute
- crippling
- debilitating
- …
- have
- suffer
- leave somebody…
- patient
- survivor
- victim
- …
- [countable] any of a series of repeated movements in swimming or rowing
- She took a few more strokes to reach the bank.
- He swam with long powerful strokes.
Wordfinder- armband
- dive
- flipper
- float
- goggles
- length
- paddle
- stroke
- swim
- water wings
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by waterc1- You can't swim more than four strokes before you reach the other side.
- The Romanian rowers pulled ahead with fast, powerful strokes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- swim
- swimming
- long
- …
- do
- swim
- [countable] (often in compounds) a style of swimming
- Butterfly is the only stroke I can't do.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- swim
- swimming
- long
- …
- do
- swim
- [countable] the person who sets the speed at which everyone in a boat rowsTopics Sports: water sportsc2
- [countable, usually singular] (especially British English) an act of moving your hand gently over a surface, usually several times
- He gave the cat a stroke.
- [countable] a mark made by moving a pen, brush, etc. once across a surface
- to paint with fine brush strokes
- At the stroke of a pen (= by signing something) they removed thousands of people from the welfare system.
Extra Examples- She caught his likeness with a few bold brush strokes.
- (figurative) I will outline in broad strokes our main ideas.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- long
- short
- broad
- …
- with a stroke of the pen
- [countable] each of the sounds made by a clock or bell giving the hours
- At the first stroke it will be 9 o'clock exactly.
- on the stroke of three (= at 3 o’clock exactly)
hitting movement
action
illness
in swimming/rowing
gentle touch
of pen/brush
of clock
Word OriginOld English strācian ‘caress lightly’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch streek ‘a stroke’, German streichen ‘to stroke’, also to strike. The earliest noun sense ‘blow’ is first recorded in Middle English.
Idioms
at a (single) stroke | at one stroke
- with a single immediate action
- They threatened to cancel the whole project at a stroke.
- They lost half their fortune at a stroke.
put somebody off their stroke
- (British English) to make somebody make a mistake or hesitate in what they are doing
- My speech was going well until I was put off my stroke by an interruption.