stroke oar

noun

, Rowing.

1. the oar nearest to the stern of the boat.
2. stroke ¹( def 14c ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of stroke oar¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

“I came in in January, instead of the normal September, and it was really cold and really high wakes on Lake Union and we managed to sink an eight,” said Bram Schwarz, the stroke oar on the UW’s varsity eight boat.

From Seattle Times

“I really did not give it much thought other than it being another saga for PLU crew,” said Curt Pearson, the stroke oar in the Knights varsity.

From Seattle Times

Weber- the heaviest of the four at about 160 pounds and, at 34, the oldest -is the stroke oar, setting the pace from his seat in the stern.

From Washington Times

It also helped that he was strikingly good- looking and built like the oarsman he had been, the former stroke oar of a Washington crew that had won national championships in 1924 and 1926.

From Literature

Washington had relied on home-built shells, many of which were notably tubby and slow, some of which had a tendency to fall apart when rowed hard, and one of which was so round bottomed and prone to tip over that Homer Kirby, stroke oar of the 1908 crew, said if you wanted to keep her on an even keel, you had to part your hair in the middle and divide your chewing tobacco evenly between your cheeks.

From Literature