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to stroke out

to stroke out

1 6.2
Draw a line through words or text to show they should be ignored
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : tachar
  • The teacher asked us to stroke out the mistakes before submitting our papers.

Examples

  • Please stroke out any outdated information in the document.

  • You're not gonna stroke out on me, are you?

  • If I stroke out here, tell the doc what happened and send my regrets.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I need to stroke out the incorrect answers on this sheet.

Synonyms

to cross off
vsto stroke out
35 1.8

To draw a line through an item on a list to show it is finished

indicates deletion or being ignored rather than completion of a task
to cross out
vsto stroke out
14 2.3

Draw a line through a word or item to show it should be removed

is used specifically to mark deletion or that something should be ignored
to strike out
vsto stroke out
8 3.7

Remove a name or item from a list by drawing a line through it

focuses on marking deletion or ignoring rather than only list removal
to scratch out
vsto stroke out
4 4.0

Draw lines through writing so you cannot read it

marks deletion or ignoring without necessarily erasing the original completely
to X-ed
vsto stroke out
7.3

To cross out writing by drawing an X over it

normally uses a single through line to show deletion rather than an X mark
to chalk off
vsto stroke out
  • UK
6.5

To mark an item as finished by drawing a line or writing a note

is about marking deletion or ignoring rather than noting completion

Antonyms

1.0

Include something extra to make something larger or better

How Removed

to obliterate
71 7.5
to erase
144 1.6
to stroke out
1 6.2
to mark
203 1.4

Surface Forms

stroke out infinitive
stroked out past participle
stroking out present participle
strokes out third person singular

Morphology

stroke + out

The meaning is directly compositional: 'stroke' denotes a mark or motion made by a pen and 'out' conveys exclusion or removal, so combined they describe making a mark through text to delete it. This editing sense follows regular English particle-verb composition and has clear cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. 'mark out', 'line through'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb stroke out comes from the simple action of drawing a line through words with a pen; a stroke is a single pen movement and out shows the words are taken away, so it means 'to delete or ignore'.