downstroke
/ˈdaʊnˌstɹoʊk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.59 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A downward stroke, especially one that is part of a sequence of alternating upward and downward strokes.
Example Sentences
- "It was written, not printed; written in a clear, even hand, with thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes, very large, easier than print, and so beautiful that Lucy stared at it for a whole minute and forgot about reading it."
- "1997, Ted Hughes, Tales from Ovid, London: Faber & Faber, "Erisychthon," lines 41-6, p. 86, He snatches an axe—and hauls / The weight of the broad head up and back. / But in that moment, as the blade hangs / Poised for the first downstroke, shudderings / Swarm through the whole tree, to its outermost twigs / And a groan bursts out of the deep grain."
- "If you keep typing on the downstroke of the spacebar it lets you, for example, squeeze a four-letter word into the space normally occupied by a three-letter word."
Etymology
From down + stroke.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdaʊnˌstɹoʊk/