- [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 Health problemsc1- 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.
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
See stroke in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee stroke in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishat 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.
Check pronunciation:
stroke