How to Use yank in a Sentence

yank

verb

• He yanked the door shut.
• She yanked on the dog's leash.
• The twister yanked them out by their roots and ripped off limbs.
  — Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 14 July 2023
• The father would have to yank the wheel sharply to avoid it.
  — Madhuri Vijay, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2022
• Grabbing the roots of the suspect’s hair, Small yanked his head and neck back and forth.
  — Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 16 Feb. 2024
• When Aldridge tries to grab his right arm, Cure yanks it away.
  — Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
• Of course the ring gets briefly stuck, and Kate has to yank it off to hand it over to Edwina.
  — Sara Netzley, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2022
• The bull was yanking against the knotted mess with all its might to no avail.
  — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 4 Oct. 2023
• By the end of the year, Mr. Stupak yanked the mushroom patty melt from the menu.
  — Pete Wells, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2024
• Don't yank it off the branch, which might damage the tree and knock other apples to the ground.
  — Casey Barber, CNN, 8 Oct. 2021
• At the center of the saga are two questions: Was the card legit, and why did Goldin yank it?
  — Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
• To yank out a garbage bag full of clothes is to nearly send his old Hot Wheels rolling.
  — Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 11 Dec. 2022
• The party may put Biden's spending bill on the back burner and yank voting rights to the front of the line.
  — Grace Segers, The New Republic, 15 Dec. 2021
• But, in the process, Brown yanked Robinson’s arm and tossed him into the courtside seats.
  — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2024
• At some point, the crowd took more drastic measures and tried to yank it down with a rope and a truck.
  — New York Times, 28 Feb. 2022
• Tom Cruise returned his trophies and NBC yanked the show off the air for a year.
  — Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2024
• Shirlee yanked a scarf from Theo’s dresser and hung it around her own head.
  — Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
• Two large fistfuls of hair were stuck in its teeth, yanked loose like weak weeds from dirt.
  — Safiya Sinclair, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
• Students yank Dasani to the front of the bus where the driver, who has pulled over, is radioing for help.
  — New York Times, 28 Sep. 2021
• Or, far worse, the vehicle gets wedged inside and needs a tow truck to yank it free.
  — John Keilman, Chicago Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022
• Adjustments can be made to lower or raise the fly, and when a fish bites, the angler knows when to yank on the line.
  — New York Times, 10 Nov. 2021
• Most will love the old-school power and sounds of the IS 500, but a visit to the filling station could yank them back to the future.
  — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 30 July 2022
• The man attempted to yank the chain from Smith’s neck when the gun went off striking Smith in the left shoulder.
  — Eileen Kelley, sun-sentinel.com, 22 Dec. 2021
• Soon, the patient will end the wait by waking up and trying to yank out his breathing tube.
  — New York Times, 22 July 2021
• Those makers then yank the motor out, slap a battery in, and call it a day.
  — Tim Stevens, WIRED, 19 Aug. 2023
• Six-pound test line stretches a lot, and a light-action rod isn't stiff enough to yank out the stretch when a fish hits at the end of a long cast.
  — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2023
• Madeline Kuhn yanks open a metal door six times her size.
  — Jacqueline Kehoe, Saveur, 20 Dec. 2023
• Vader is too spent at this point to yank down a second ship, or something.
  — Erik Kain, Forbes, 15 June 2022
• The staff members yanked the store’s manager over and urged him to carry the product in store.
  — Byjasmine Li, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2024
• John Wayne wanted to go out there and physically yank her off the stage.
  — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2022

Last Updated: 3 May 2024