keystroke

American  

[kee-strohk] / ˈkiˌstroʊk /

noun

1. one stroke of any key on a machine operated by a keyboard, as a typewriter, computer terminal, or Linotype.

   I can do 3000 keystrokes an hour.

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keystroke British  

/ ˈkiːˌstrəʊk /

noun

1. a single operation of the mechanism of a typewriter or keyboard-operated typesetting machine by the action of a key

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Etymology

Origin of keystroke

First recorded in 1905–10; key ¹ + stroke ¹

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Explanation

A keystroke is the tap of a letter, number, symbol, or command on a computer keyboard. It takes ten keystrokes to type the word vocabulary. The noun keystroke wasn't common until after the invention of computers, although you can use it when you talk about pressing a key on a typewriter as well. Online stores have made it dangerously easy to buy things, sometimes with only a few keystrokes. The word comes from the sense of stroke that's defined as "act of striking."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

keystroke

The information from 2018 gave detectives a second strand of evidence, and grounds to monitor every keystroke that Greer made on police computers.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

I mustered my best keystroke maestro and pushed the limits of my texting speed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

Amazon caught North Korean IT worker by tracing keystroke data.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 22, 2025

With a keystroke, he switched to infrared vision to find the man’s heat profile through the brush to make sure he still had him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025

Each keystroke, each carriage return, makes Helmuth hate Hitler and his war all the more.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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