yank

1 of 3

verb

yanked; yanking; yanks

intransitive verb

: to pull on something with a quick vigorous movement

transitive verb

1
: to pull or extract with a quick vigorous movement
2
: to remove in or as if in an abrupt manner
yanked the story from the evening edition

yank

2 of 3

noun (1)

: a strong sudden pull : jerk

Yank

3 of 3

noun (2)

: yankee

Examples of yank in a Sentence

Verb He yanked the door shut. She yanked on the dog's leash. Noun (1) had to give the shoe a good yank to get it off
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
That means even a relatively modest decline in the value of your assets can technically push you into insolvency, especially if depositors decide to yank their money out, Piskorski explains. Allison Morrow, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 And there were serious safety issues after assailants carjacked a production vehicle, yanking a production assistant from a SUV and taking off in her car, according to show sources and The Hollywood Reporter. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2024 More recently, in November, Moody's Investors Service threatened to yank away America’s last AAA rating. William Pesek, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Also, Clark turning the ball over 10 times speaks to her brilliance — every other player throwing the ball away that much would be yanked and find a seat on the bench. Heather Tucker, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2024 After her comments, Elon Musk’s social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, yanked her account. Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024 Grabbing the roots of the suspect’s hair, Small yanked his head and neck back and forth. Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 16 Feb. 2024 But, in the process, Brown yanked Robinson’s arm and tossed him into the courtside seats. Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2024 The staff members yanked the store’s manager over and urged him to carry the product in store. Byjasmine Li, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2024
Noun
Her teacher promptly pulled her back into line with a yank whose mildness astonished me. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 4 May 2023 Happy to help, Marsh popped over, entered the combination and gave it a good yank — success. Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 4 May 2023 As Fillies President Barb Wainwright gave the carnival-style wheel a vigorous yank, the five princesses crossed their fingers until the wheel slowed its rotations and came to a stop. Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 16 Apr. 2023 Payakan gives the cable one final, powerful yank, launching Scoresby in one direction and his disembodied arm in another. Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 20 Dec. 2022 The string yank method usually works best on hooks that are embedded past the barb at a downward angle, but not so deep that the hook point is turned upward. Matt Williams, Dallas News, 4 June 2022 At first the rider throws a rope around the neck of the small animal, stopping it mid-run with a forceful yank, which often tops the animal over. Susanne Ruststaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2022 The little guy’s first outing on the Nintendo DS saw HAL grabbing the system’s experimental nature and giving it a solid yank. PCMAG, 25 Mar. 2022 Detailing is excellent for the price and includes a waterproof abdomen pocket with cable port for earphones and a locking slider for unzipping with just a quick yank on the lapel. Outside Online, 15 Aug. 2014

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'yank.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb

1822, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (1)

circa 1864, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1778, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of yank was in 1778

Dictionary Entries Near yank

Cite this Entry

“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yank. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

yank

1 of 3 noun
: a strong sudden pull : jerk

yank

2 of 3 verb
: to pull suddenly or forcefully

Yank

3 of 3 noun
: yankee

More from Merriam-Webster on yank

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