strike and stroke differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. strike means “deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon”. stroke means “(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand”. strike is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈstɹaɪk/
1.v.deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
“The teacher struck the child”
2.v.have an emotional or cognitive impact upon
“This child impressed me as unusually mature”
3.v.hit against; come into sudden contact with
“The car hit a tree”
/ˈstɹoʊk/
| strike | stroke | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɹaɪk/ | /ˈstɹoʊk/ |
| Said | strahyk | strohk |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | noun, verb |
| Senses | 28 | 16 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | shot |
Full entry for strike · Full entry for stroke · More comparisons
1.n.(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
“it took two strokes to get out of the bunker”
2.n.the maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam
3.n.a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain