Stroke vs. Struck — What's the Difference?

A mark made by drawing a pen, pencil, or paintbrush once across a surface.

To come into forcible contact or collision with something.

An act of hitting or striking someone or something.

Past tense of strike; to hit forcibly and deliberately with one's hand or a tool or weapon.

A single continuous movement, especially one of a series in swimming or rowing.

To produce (sound) by hitting or plucking a musical instrument.

An act of moving one's hand with gentle pressure over a surface, often repeatedly.

To ignite something by friction, especially to light a match.

An act of hitting or striking someone or something; a blow

To make an impression on the mind or senses.

A mark made by drawing a pen, pencil, or paintbrush in one direction across paper or canvas

Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Adolf Struck (1877–1911), German author Hermann Struck (1876–1944), German artist Karin Struck (1947–2006), German author Paul Struck (1776-1820), German composer Peter Struck (1943–2012), German politician (SPD) Peter Struck (classicist), professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

An act of moving one's hand across a surface with gentle pressure

Past tense and a past participle of strike.

Each of a series of movements in which something moves out of its position and back into it

Affected or shut down by a labor strike.

Move one's hand with gentle pressure over (a surface), typically repeatedly; caress

Simple past tense and past participle of strike

Act as the stroke of (a boat or crew)

(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming;

Hit or kick (a ball) smoothly and deliberately

The act or an instance of striking, as with the hand, a weapon, or a tool; a blow or impact.

The striking of a bell or gong.

The sound so produced.

The time so indicated

A sudden action or process having a strong impact or effect

A sudden occurrence or result

A sudden severe attack, as of paralysis or sunstroke.

An inspired or effective idea or act

A single uninterrupted movement, especially when repeated or in a back-and-forth motion

A keystroke.

Any of a series of movements of a piston from one end of the limit of its motion to another.

A single completed movement of the limbs and body, as in swimming or rowing.

The manner or rate of executing such a movement

The rower who sits nearest the coxswain or the stern and sets the tempo for the other rowers.

The position occupied by this person.

A movement of the upper torso and arms for the purpose of striking a ball, as in golf or tennis.

The manner of executing such a movement.

A scoring unit in golf counted for such a movement

A single mark made by a writing or marking implement, such as a pen.

The act of making such a mark.

A printed line in a graphic character that resembles such a mark.

A distinctive effect or deft touch, as in literary composition.

A light caressing movement, as of the hand.

To mark with a single short line.

To draw a line through; cancel

(Nautical) To set the pace for (a rowing crew).

To hit or propel (a ball, for example) with a smoothly regulated swing.

To make or perform a stroke.

(Nautical) To row at a particular rate per minute.

To rub lightly with or as if with the hand or something held in the hand; caress.

(Informal) To behave attentively or flatteringly toward (someone), especially in order to restore confidence or gain cooperation.

An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.

An act of striking with a weapon; a blow.

A single movement with a tool; also, an impact of a tool on an object.

An act, or the sound, of the clapper or hammer of a clock hitting a bell or other striking mechanism; hence, the time when such a strike occurs.

(ball games) An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.

A movement similar to that of hitting.

One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.

A beat or throb, as of the heart or pulse.

(technology) A single movement or thrust of a part (such as a piston) of a machine that moves back and forth; also, the length of this movement.

(figuratively)

An act causing hurt or death, especially when seen as divine punishment.

A damaging occurrence, especially if sudden; a blow, a calamity.

An amount of work; specifically, a large amount of business or work.

A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done or produced; also, something accomplished by such an effort; an achievement, a feat.

A movement of a brush in painting, of a chisel in carving, of a pen, pencil, or such implement in drawing or writing, etc., in one direction; hence, a line or mark made on a surface by such an implement.

A distinctive expression in a written composition; a touch.

Influence; power.

(turn-based games) A masterful or effective action.

(sciences) An individual discharge of lightning, particularly if causing damage.

(obsolete)

The effect or result of a striking; affliction or injury; a bruise or wound; soreness.

Chiefly in to have a good stroke: appetite.

(medicine) A sudden attack of any illness, especially if causing loss of consciousness or movement, or when fatal.

(music) 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.

An act of moving one's hand or an object along a surface in one direction, touching it lightly; a caress.

(figuratively)

A gesture of assurance given as encouragement; specifically (psychoanalysis) in transactional analysis: a (generally positive) reaction expressed to a person which fulfils their desires or needs.

A flattering or friendly act, comment, etc., done or made to a person to influence them.

(transitive)

To draw the horizontal line across the upright part (of the letter t).

Followed by out or through: to draw a line or lines through (text) to indicate that it is deleted; to cancel, to strike or strike out.

Of a bell or clock: to chime or sound to indicate (the hour, the time, etc.).

(rare) To mark (something) with lines or stripes; to stripe.

(ball games) To hit or kick (the ball) with a flowing or smooth motion; also, to score (a goal, a point, etc.) by doing so.

(rowing)

(swimming) To strike (the water) with one's arms and legs when swimming.

(obsolete) To depict (something) with a paintbrush.

(intransitive)

(swimming) To swim by making co-ordinated movements with the arms and legs.

To move one's hand or an object (such as a broom or brush) along (a surface) in one direction, touching it lightly; to caress.

To bring (something) to a certain condition by stroking (sense 1).

(figuratively)

To give assurance to (someone) through encouragement.

To influence (someone) by convincing or flattering them.

(agriculture) To milk (a cow or other animal); especially, to squeeze the teat of (a cow, etc.) to extract the last bit of milk from the udder; to strap dialectal, to strip.

(masonry) To give a finely fluted surface to (stone) by carving it with a tool.

(obsolete)

To sharpen (a knife or other cutting instrument) by honing or rubbing it against a surface.

(figuratively) To soothe (someone); also, to flatter or indulge (someone).

Struck.

The act of striking; a blow; a hit; a knock; esp., a violent or hostile attack made with the arm or hand, or with an instrument or weapon.

The result of effect of a striking; injury or affliction; soreness.

The striking of the clock to tell the hour.

A gentle, caressing touch or movement upon something; a stroking.

A mark or dash in writing or printing; a line; the touch of a pen or pencil; as, an up stroke; a firm stroke.

Hence, by extension, an addition or amandment to a written composition; a touch; as, to give some finishing strokes to an essay.

A sudden attack of disease; especially, a fatal attack; a severe disaster; any affliction or calamity, especially a sudden one; as, a stroke of apoplexy; the stroke of death.

A throb or beat, as of the heart.

One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished; as, the stroke of a bird's wing in flying, or an oar in rowing, of a skater, swimmer, etc.

A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done, produced, or accomplished; also, something done or accomplished by such an effort; as, a stroke of genius; a stroke of business; a master stroke of policy.

The movement, in either direction, of the piston plunger, piston rod, crosshead, etc., as of a steam engine or a pump, in which these parts have a reciprocating motion; as, the forward stroke of a piston; also, the entire distance passed through, as by a piston, in such a movement; as, the piston is at half stroke.

Power; influence.

Appetite.

To strike.

To rib gently in one direction; especially, to pass the hand gently over by way of expressing kindness or tenderness; to caress; to soothe.

To make smooth by rubbing.

To give a finely fluted surface to.

To row the stroke oar of; as, to stroke a boat.

(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand;

The maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam

A light touch

A light touch with the hands

The oarsman nearest the stern of the shell who sets the pace for the rest of the crew

A punctuation mark (/) used to separate related items of information

A mark made by a writing implement (as in cursive writing)

Any one of the repeated movements of the limbs and body used for locomotion in swimming or rowing

A single complete movement

Touch lightly and with affection, with brushing motions;

Strike a ball with a smooth blow

Row at a particular rate

Treat gingerly or carefully;

In sports like swimming and rowing, a stroke refers to a complete and single movement.

While generally neutral or positive, stroke can be negative when referring to the medical condition.

Struck is often used to describe a sudden realization or inspiration, as in "struck by an idea."

Yes, in art, a stroke refers to a single sweep of the brush or drawing instrument.

Yes, stroke in medical terms implies severe health risks, whereas struck generally deals with physical impacts.

Struck often implies a forceful impact or a significant event in historical narratives.

In baseball, to be "struck out" means to fail in hitting the ball three times, leading to an out.

Yes, "at a stroke" means all at once, indicating something done decisively and effectively.

The past participle of strike is struck.

"Struck down" typically implies being forcefully hit or decisively defeated.

Yes, stroke is used metaphorically to mean soothing or supporting someone emotionally.

In music, struck refers to producing a sound by hitting an instrument.

Struck by lightning is a sudden, forceful event, while a stroke is a serious health condition usually without immediate external cause.

Stroke generally does not imply suddenness except in medical contexts; struck almost always implies sudden, forceful action or realization.