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What is the stroke?

The stroke is the distance that a piston within the cylinder of an engine covers in a single engine cycle.  As pistons move up and down (in a vertically aligned engine), the stroke is the distance from the highest point to the lowest point.  In the U.S., it's normally expressed in inches.  Elsewhere it's normally expressed in mm.

See What is Displacement to learn how stroke relates to displacement and bore.