Acquisitions (Allocation Of The Preliminary Purchase Price To The Acquired Net Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2021
Goodwill	$ 12,778	$ 12,803
Wright
Accounts receivable	127
Inventory	478
Deferred income tax assets	373
Other assets	345
Debt	(1,447)
Deferred income tax liabilities	(504)
Product liabilities	(199)
Other liabilities	(290)
Goodwill	3,459
Purchase price, net of cash acquired	$ 4,081
Weighted-average life of intangible assets	12 years
Wright \| Customer and distributor relationships
Intangible assets acquired	$ 181
Wright \| Developed technology and patents
Intangible assets acquired	1,499
Wright \| Trade name
Intangible assets acquired	$ 59

Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Product Liabilities

No definition available.

Name:	syk_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedProductLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	syk_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Weighted average amortization period of finite-lived intangible assets acquired either individually or as part of a group of assets, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66006027&loc=d3e16265-109275

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AcquiredFiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsWeightedAverageUsefulLife
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of liability recognized arising from contingent consideration in a business combination.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120321790&loc=d3e6927-128479

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 35
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116859824&loc=d3e6819-128478

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 25
-Paragraph 6
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911189&loc=d3e6408-128476

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationContingentConsiderationLiability
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount due from customers or clients for goods or services, including trade receivables, that have been delivered or sold in the normal course of business, and amounts due from others, including related parties expected to be converted to cash, sold or exchanged within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer, acquired at the acquisition date.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedCurrentAssetsReceivables
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of deferred tax asset attributable to deductible temporary differences and carryforwards acquired at the acquisition date.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedDeferredTaxAssets
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of deferred tax liability attributable to taxable temporary differences assumed at the acquisition date.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedDeferredTaxLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of identifiable intangible assets recognized as of the acquisition date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Section 55
-Paragraph 37
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123455525&loc=d3e2207-128464

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123413009&loc=d3e4845-128472

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedIntangibles
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of inventory recognized as of the acquisition date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123413009&loc=d3e4845-128472

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Section 55
-Paragraph 37
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123455525&loc=d3e2207-128464

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedInventory
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of other liabilities due after one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer, assumed at the acquisition date.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedNoncurrentLiabilitiesOther
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of other assets expected to be realized or consumed after one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer, acquired at the acquisition date.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedOtherNoncurrentAssets
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount recognized for assets, including goodwill, in excess of (less than) the aggregate liabilities assumed.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredGoodwillAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(10)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120398452&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120320667&loc=SL49117168-202975

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 852
-SubTopic 10
-Section 55
-Paragraph 10
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84165509&loc=d3e56426-112766

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99380562&loc=d3e13770-109266

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_Goodwill
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis=syk_WrightMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=syk_CustomerAndDistributorRelationshipsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=us-gaap_DevelopedTechnologyRightsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=us-gaap_TradeNamesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: