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# stroke

«stroke» in Mova's school dictionary: **to move your hand gently over it, usually again and again** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (stroke, strokes, stroked, stroking); noun (a stroke, strokes)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To stroke an animal or person is to move your hand gently over it, usually again and again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#m1)

2) A stroke is one movement of a pen or brush, or of an arm or oar in swimming or rowing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#m2)

3) A stroke is a hit, as in tennis, golf or cricket. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#m3)

4) A stroke is a serious illness when blood cannot get to part of the brain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#m4)

5) A stroke of a clock is one ring: «on the stroke of twelve». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#m5)

6) «A stroke of luck» is a sudden piece of good luck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

In pet lessons, stroke animals gently in the direction their fur grows and only if they are calm and the owner says yes. In swimming, strokes are front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. In health, a stroke is an emergency: signs are a drooping face, weak arm and slurred speech — call emergency services (FAST). In writing, letters are made of strokes.

### examples

- Stroke the cat gently. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x1)
- The dog loves it when you stroke its ears. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x2)
- Breaststroke is my favourite swimming stroke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x3)
- Grandad had a stroke and is in hospital. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x4)
- Draw the letter with one stroke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x5)
- On the stroke of midnight the coach turned into a pumpkin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x6)
- Finding my lost ring was a stroke of luck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x7)
- Ask before you stroke someone's dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x8)
- He swam a few more strokes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/#x9)

### note

Regular verb: stroked. Do not confuse «stroke» (gentle touch) with «strike» (hit hard). In maths diagrams, strokes like «||||» are tally marks; five strokes in a gate make 5.

### In the corpora

- [Small shakes are normal; artists draw lightly with many strokes from the shoulder and elbow, then darken the line they like.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/12-drawing-lines-shapes-and-drawing-what-you-really-see/17/)
- [Stroke a cat on your lap and you feel a low rumble through its body: the purr.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/197-cats-purring-whiskers-night-eyes-and-grooming/2/)
- [Some ants guard aphids from ladybirds and stroke them for sweet honeydew, and some keep aphid eggs in the nest over winter.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/238-ants-colonies-queens-farmers-and-living-bridges/9/)
- [A dog in a working harness is on duty, so you do not stroke it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/292-dogs-from-wolves-to-best-friends-living-with-dogs-today/9/)
- [Always ask the owner before stroking a dog, and let the dog sniff you first.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «stroke» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stroke/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.