downstroke

[ doun-strohk ]

noun

1. a downward stroke, as of a machine part, piston, or the like.
2. a downward stroke in writing, often heavier and darker than an upward stroke.

Word History and Origins

Origin of downstroke¹

First recorded in 1850–55; down ¹ + stroke ¹

Example Sentences

We wrote it on acoustic guitar, but we already had the downstrokes that you could tell were gonna be power chords.

From Los Angeles Times

For Ms. Reid, crafting elegant words with her pens is not just an artistic practice, but a physical one, with a meditative rhythm of upstrokes and downstrokes.

From New York Times

The NBC broadcast picked up audio of a spectator yelling during Fish’s downstroke, and the shot was hooked right into the trees.

From Los Angeles Times

“The body cavity is all below the spine, so on the downstroke, everything below the spine is being squeezed,” Shadwick says.

From Scientific American

The crowd soundtrack them with a few loud woahs ... so he teases them by stalling theatrically on the downstroke.

From The Guardian