Stroke Meaning

/stɹəʊk/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounAn act of hitting; a blow, a hit.

nounAn act of hitting; a blow, a hit., An act of striking with a weapon; a blow.

I had a stroke last year.
The lion put an end to his prey with one stroke.
The stroke left his right side permanently damaged.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
She ____ the cat's soft fur gently to help it feel calm and relaxed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She gave the cat a gentle ____ on its back, and it immediately began to purr with total satisfaction.

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”)

"Hee paſſed the vvhole length of Italie vvithout reſiſtance, […] He likevviſe entred and vvonne (in effect) the vvhole Kingdome of Naples it ſelfe, vvithout ſtriking ſtroke." — 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC, page 142:
"But becauſe amongſt many ſtroaks, vvhich our eyes, eares, and other organs receive from external bodies, the predominant onely is ſenſible; therefore the light of the Sun being predominant, vve are not affected vvith the action of the ſtarrs." — 1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of Imagination”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC, 1st part (Of Man), page 5:
"[A]fter the impulſive force, vvhich drove them upvvard, grevv languid, nor vvas there any other ſtroak, vvhich might toſſe them that vvay, the Atoms themſelves, endeavouring to go dovvn again, met vvith obſacles from others, vvhereupon they flevv about vvith greater activity, […]" — 1659–1660, Thomas Stanley, “[Epicurus: The Second Part of Philosophy.] Chap[ter] IV. Of the Generation of the World.”, in The History of Philosophy, the Third and Last Volume, […], volume III, London: […] Humphrey Moseley, and Thomas Dring, […], →OCLC, 5th part (Containing the Epicurean Sect), section II (Of the World), page 171:
"With many a wanton stroke / Her feet disperse the powd'ry snow / That rises up like smoke." — 1799 (date written), W[illiam] Wordsworth, “Lucy Gray”, in Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems. […], 2nd edition, London: […] T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Co., […], published 1800, →OCLC, page 65:
"Their mightie ſtrokes their haberieons diſmayld, / And naked made each others manly ſpalles; […]" — 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 30, page 265:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
She ____ the cat's soft fur gently to help it feel calm and relaxed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She gave the cat a gentle ____ on its back, and it immediately began to purr with total satisfaction.

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