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stroke

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "stroke", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "stroke" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "stroke" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

stroke is aEnglishnoun. It means: An act of hitting; a blow, a hit. Pronounced /stɹəʊk/. It ranks #4,555 in English word frequency. Often confused with strong and stroll.

Key facts for stroke
PropertyValue
Headwordstroke
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɹəʊk/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,555
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of stroke in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for stroke is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɹəʊk/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,555 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 34 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for stroke, with forms such as "srtoke", "sstroke", and "storke". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "strong", "stroll", "Stroud", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”).… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is stroke, spelled S-T-R-O-K-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  2. 2
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  3. 3
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  4. 4
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  5. 5
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  6. 6
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  7. 7
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  8. 8
    An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
  9. 9
    A movement similar to that of hitting.
  10. 10
    A movement similar to that of hitting.
  11. 11
    A movement similar to that of hitting.
  12. 12
    A movement similar to that of hitting.
  13. 13
    A movement similar to that of hitting.
  14. 14
    A movement similar to that of hitting.
  15. 15
    A movement similar to that of hitting.
  16. 16
    An act causing hurt or death, especially when seen as divine punishment.
  17. 17
    A damaging occurrence, especially if sudden; a blow, a calamity.
  18. 18
    An amount of work; specifically, a large amount of business or work.
  19. 19
    A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done or produced; also, something accomplished by such an effort; an achievement, a feat.
  20. 20
    A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
  21. 21
    A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
  22. 22
    A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
  23. 23
    A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement.
  24. 24
    A distinctive expression in a written composition; a touch.
  25. 25
    Influence; power.
  26. 26
    Influence; power.
  27. 27
    A masterful or effective action.
  28. 28
    A sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain, causing minor to major brain damage and possible death.
  29. 29
    An individual discharge of lightning, particularly if causing damage.
  30. 30
    An individual social interaction whereby one gives another attention or recognition.
  31. 31
    The effect or result of a striking; affliction or injury; a bruise or wound; soreness.
  32. 32
    Chiefly in to have a good stroke: appetite.
  33. 33
    A sudden attack of any illness, especially if causing loss of consciousness or movement, or when fatal.
  34. 34
    A bow or pluck of a string or strings of a stringed instrument; also, the manner in which a musical instrument is played; hence, a melody, a tune.

Etymology

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”)

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: srtoke,sstroke,storke,strkoe,stroek,strokke,strroke,sttroke,tsroke

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for stroke

Misspelling Variants of "stroke"

srtoke6sstroke7storke6strkoe6stroek6strokke7strroke7sttroke7
Misspelling Variants of "stroke"

Frequency rank: #4,555 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stroke"?
"stroke" is spelled S-T-R-O-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /stɹəʊk/.
What does "stroke" mean?
As a noun, "stroke" means: An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
What words are commonly confused with "stroke"?
"stroke" is commonly confused with "strong", "stroll", "Stroud". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stroke"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stroke" is /stɹəʊk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stroke"?
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... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.