breaststroke

noun

breast·​stroke ˈbres(t)-ˌstrōk 

: a swimming stroke executed in a prone position by coordinating a kick in which the legs are brought forward with the knees together and the feet are turned outward and whipped back with a glide and a backward sweeping movement of the arms

breaststroker

ˈbres(t)-ˌstrō-kər 

noun

Examples of breaststroke in a Sentence

I'll be competing in the 50-meter breaststroke.

Recent Examples on the Web

There, David competed in several events, placing as high as sixth in the 200-yard individual medley, while Carol claimed gold in the 50-yard breaststroke. —Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 11 Sep. 2025

Also Saturday, in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke semifinals, world-record holder Ruta Meilutyte took the top qualifying spot for Sunday’s final, followed by China’s Qianting Tang and Italy’s Benedetta Pilato. —Zack Pierce, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2025

The 23-year-old is already an Olympic and two-time world champion in the 200m individual medley, which involves swimming a length of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle in the same race. —George Ramsay, CNN Money, 30 July 2025

Spitz sets a 100-meter butterfly record at 56.3 and Ball becomes the first U.S. swimmer to set a world record for the breaststroke with a 2:40.5 time for 200 meters. —Sports Editor follow, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for breaststroke

• awoke
• baroque
• bespoke
• colloque
• convoke
• evoke
• invoke
• keystroke
• kinfolk
• kinsfolk
• menfolk
• provoke

Kids Definition

breaststroke

noun

breast·​stroke ˈbres(t)-ˌstrōk 

: a swimming stroke performed by extending the arms in front of the head while drawing the knees forward and outward and then sweeping the arms back with palms out while kicking backward and outward