Noun

Singular stroke

Plural strokes

stroke (plural strokes)

1. An act of stroking (moving one's hand over a surface).

   She gave the cat a stroke.

2. A blow or hit.

   a stroke on the chin

   1. (Should we delete this redundant sense?) A single act of striking with a weapon.
3. A single movement with a tool.
   1. (golf) A single act of striking at the ball with a club.
   2. (tennis) The hitting of a ball with a racket, or the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.
   3. (rowing) The movement of an oar or paddle through water, either the pull which actually propels the vessel or a single entire cycle of movement including the pull.
   4. (cricket) The action of hitting the ball with the bat; a shot.
   5. A thrust of a piston.
4. A line drawn with a pen or other writing implement.
   1. (hence, British) The symbol /.
   2. (Should we delete this redundant sense?) A streak of paint made with a brush.
   3. (Can we clean up this sense?) (linguistics) A stroke of a Chinese, Japanese or Korean character.
5. (Should we delete this redundant sense?) (art) A stroke of pen or brush.
6. The time when a clock strikes.

   on the stroke of midnight

7. A particular style of swimming.

   butterfly stroke

8. (medicine) The loss of brain function arising when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted.
9. (rowing) The rower who is nearest the stern of the boat.
10. (professional wrestling) Backstage influence.
11. (squash) A point awarded to a player in case of interference or obstruction by the opponent.

Synonyms

• (act of stroking, petting): caress
• (blow): blow, hit
  • (act of striking with a weapon): blow
• (single movement with a tool):
  • (in golf):
  • (in tennis):
  • (in rowing):
  • (in cricket): shot
  • (thrust of a piston): push, thrust
• (made with a pen): stroke of the pen
  • (made with a brush): brushstroke
  • (symbol): forward slash (in computing), shilling sign (British, dated), slant, slash (especially in computing), solidus, virgule
• (time when a clock strikes): hour
• (particular style of swimming):
• (in medical sense): cerebrovascular accident, CVA
• (in wrestling):

Derived terms

• at a stroke
• at one stroke
• backstroke
• breaststroke
• brushstroke
• butterfly stroke
• different strokes for different folks
• down to the short strokes
• four-stroke engine

• government stroke
• keystroke
• masterstroke
• short strokes
• stroke of genius
• stroke of luck
• stroke of work
• stroke order
• two-stroke engine

A stroke (sometimes called a cerebrovascular accident (CVA)) is the rapidly developing loss of brain function(s) due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain, caused by a blocked or burst blood vessel. This can be due to ischemia (lack of glucose and oxygen supply) caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage. As a result, the affected area of the brain is unable to function, leading to inability to move one or more limbs on one side of the body, inability to understand or formulate speech, or inability to see one side of the visual field.

A stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications, and death. It is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States and Europe. It is the number two cause of death worldwide and may soon become the leading cause of death worldwide. Risk factors for stroke include advanced age, hypertension (high blood pressure), previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking and atrial fibrillation. High blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor of stroke.

A stroke is occasionally treated with thrombolysis ("clot buster"), but usually with supportive care (speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy) in a "stroke unit" and secondary prevention with antiplatelet drugs (aspirin and often dipyridamole), blood pressure control, statins, and in selected patients with carotid endarterectomy and anticoagulation.