- stroke
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 of a brush, pen, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ long, short▪ broad (often figurative), thick▪
I will outline in broad strokes our main ideas.
▪ narrow, thin▪ bold, vigorous▪She caught his likeness with a few bold pen strokes.
▪ even▪ deft▪ quick, slow▪ downward, upward▪ horizontal, vertical▪ brush (usually brushstroke), pen, pencilPHRASES▪ with a stroke of the pen▪With a stroke of the pen our names were removed from the register.
2 in sportsADJECTIVE▪ fast, quick▪ slow, smooth▪ powerful▪The Romanian rowers pulled ahead with powerful strokes.
▪ backhand, forehand (in tennis, etc.)▪ downward, upwardVERB + STROKE▪ play▪He played some powerful backhand strokes throughout the game.
PREPOSITION▪ by a stroke, two strokes, etc. (in golf)▪Woods leads by two strokes.
PHRASES▪ a stroke, two strokes, etc. ahead, a stroke, two strokes, etc. behind (in golf)3 in swimmingADJECTIVE▪ swim (AmE), swimming▪ long, short▪He swam back with long, slow strokes.
▪ fast, slow▪ powerful, strongVERB + STROKE▪ do, swim▪You can't swim more than four strokes before you reach the other side.
4 sudden illness of the brainADJECTIVE▪ acute, crippling, debilitating, disabling (esp. BrE), massive, serious▪ mild, minor, slight▪ fatal, non-fatal▪ recurrent▪This regimen substantially reduces the risks of recurrent stroke.
VERB + STROKE▪ have, suffer▪She had a massive stroke and lost her speech.
STROKE + VERB▪ leave sb …▪The stroke left him in a wheelchair.
STROKE + NOUN▪ patient, survivor, victim▪ prevention5 sth that happens unexpectedlyADJECTIVE▪ sudden▪I had a sudden stroke of inspiration.
VERB + STROKE▪ havePREPOSITION▪ at a stroke, at one stroke▪They lost half their fortune at a stroke.
▪ stroke of▪a stroke of genius
PHRASES▪ a stroke of bad luck, a stroke of fortune, a stroke of good fortune, a stroke of good luck, a stroke of luck◆◆◆NOTE: Swimming strokes▪ do (the) … , swim (the) …▪a swimmer doing the crawl
▪I can't swim butterfly.
▪ strike out in/with …▪She struck out for the shore with a strong crawl.
▪ a lap of … (AmE), a length of …▪He did 15 lengths of backstroke every morning.
▪ 100 metres/meters … , 200 metres/meters … , etc.▪the 100 metres/meters butterfly
▪ men's … , women's …▪the women's freestyle
▪ compete in … , take part in … (esp. BrE)▪They're competing in the breaststroke.
▪ in the …▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}He came first in the 200 metres/meters backstroke.
verbADVERB▪ gently, lightly, slowly, softly, tenderly▪ thoughtfully▪He stroked his beard thoughtfully.
▪ absently, absent-mindedly, idly▪She stroked his hair absently.
▪ away, back (both esp. BrE)▪She gently stroked away his tears.
▪He stroked back his hair.
Stroke is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑hand
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
