sidestroke

[sahyd-strohk]

noun

1. a stroke in which the body is turned sideways in the water, the hands pull alternately, and the legs perform a scissors kick.

verb (used without object)

sidestroked, sidestroking 

1. to swim the sidestroke.

sidestroke

/ ˈsaɪdˌstrəʊk /

noun

1. a type of swimming stroke in which the swimmer lies sideways in the water paddling with his arms and making a scissors kick with his legs

Word History and Origins

Origin of sidestroke¹

First recorded in 1750–60; side ¹ + stroke ¹

Example Sentences

But as he’s perfected what he calls a double-arm pull and a modified sidestroke, he’s toughened up all over.

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During these past several months, Teddy’s sidestroke performance makes me laugh several times daily.

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He was the lifeguard; she, the big-eyed beauty with long dark hair and a mean sidestroke.

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First they raced freestyle, then backstroke, breaststroke, and sidestroke.

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He was summoned to see the president — not in the Oval Office, but in the White House swimming pool, where he found the commander in chief doing a leisurely sidestroke — naked.

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