stroke

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
stroke/strəʊk/

▶noun

• 1 an act of hitting: he received three strokes of the cane.

  ■ Golf an act of hitting the ball with a club, as a unit of scoring.

  ■ a sound made by a striking clock.

• 2 a mark made by drawing a pen, pencil, or paintbrush once across paper or canvas.

  ■ a line forming part of a written or printed character.

  ■ a short diagonal line separating characters or figures.

• 3 an act of stroking.

• 4 one of a series of repeated movements.

  ■ the whole motion of a piston in either direction.

  ■ a style of moving the arms and legs in swimming.

  ■ the mode or action of moving the oar in rowing.

  ■ (also stroke oar) the oarsman nearest the stern, setting the timing for the other rowers.

• 5 a sudden disabling attack or loss of consciousness caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain.

▶verb

• 1 move one's hand with gentle pressure over (a surface).

• 2 N. Amer. informal manipulate by means of flattery or persuasion.

• 3 act as the stroke of (a boat or crew).

– phrases
at a (or one) stroke by a single action having immediate effect.
not (or never) do a stroke of work do no work at all.
on the stroke of —— precisely at the specified time.
put someone off their stroke disconcert someone so that they make a mistake or hesitate.
stroke of genius an outstandingly original idea.
stroke of luck (or good luck) a fortunate unexpected occurrence.

– derivatives
strokeable adjective,
stroker noun.

– origin OE strācian ‘caress lightly’, of Gmc origin; rel. to strike.