\ ˈyaŋk 
\
\yanked; yanking; yanks
Definition of yank
(Entry 1 of 3)
: to pull on something with a quick vigorous movement
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
noun (1)Definition of yank (Entry 2 of 3)
: a strong sudden pull : jerk
Yank
noun (2)\ ˈyaŋk \
\Definition of Yank (Entry 3 of 3)
: yankee
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Synonyms & Antonyms for yank
Synonyms: Verb
Synonyms: Noun (1)
Antonyms: Noun (1)
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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
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Conservatives are trying to yank Gov. Gavin Newsom from office.
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George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, "Column: Newsom shouldn’t ignore an effort to recall him. Here’s how he can fight it," 28 Dec. 2020 Why didn’t Kyle Shanahan yank Mullens after the pick-six?
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Eric Branch, SFChronicle.com, "49ers’ game review vs. Washington: Defense does its job, but offense is woeful," 13 Dec. 2020 Confused by the shooting, Louis plucked his 7-year-old and a playmate off a nearby lawn and secured them in his home before dashing across the street to yank his 8-year-old off his bike and run him to safety.
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Bryan Denson, ProPublica, "New Eyewitness Accounts: Feds Didn’t Identify Themselves Before Opening Fire on Portland Antifa Suspect," 13 Oct. 2020 Brennan then approached a 19-year-old woman, grabbed her forearm and tried to yank fliers from her other hand, resulting in a tug-of-war over the papers before the woman was able to pull back from Brennan with the fliers, according to police.
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Washington Post, "Bethesda bike-trail assailant pleads guilty to assault in flier-snatching case," 16 Dec. 2020 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another.
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Tribune News Service, cleveland, "‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is an irresistible coming-of-age drama. No prior chess expertise required (review)," 2 Nov. 2020 Nightmares yank him back to the 8-by-10-foot cell that confines him to solitary 23 hours a day.
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Mark Vancleave, Star Tribune, "LIFE AFTER DEATH ROW," 2 Aug. 2015 The Arecibo Observatory has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including threats from the National Science Foundation to yank funding.
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Nadia Drake, National Geographic, "Iconic radio telescope in Puerto Rico is at risk of collapsing," 12 Nov. 2020 The fun throughout, the payoff, is in seeing Beth yank the rug out from one misunderestimating lunkhead and authority figure after another.
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Tribune News Service, cleveland, "‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is an irresistible coming-of-age drama. No prior chess expertise required (review)," 2 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The son figured out that by stretching PTFE with a sudden yank, the polymer expanded by 1,000 percent.
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The Salt Lake Tribune, "Robert W. Gore, the inventor of Gore-Tex fabric and Utah native, dead at 83," 19 Sep. 2020 Without a word, the woman stood up and, giving a little yank at the seat of her bikini, strode off without a backward glance.
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Haruki Murakami, The New Yorker, "The Kingdom That Failed," 13 Aug. 2020 But the company largely resisted the Internet, quick to police its copyrights and yank unauthorized versions of show footage from the web.
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Brian Mccollum, Detroit Free Press, "Ed Sullivan videos finally hit the web — led by Motown's Jackson 5, Supremes, Tempts," 12 June 2020 Her folding Ollie chair flattens with the yank of a cord, and a satisfying clack!
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Jane Margolies, New York Times, "At the Brooklyn Navy Yard It’s Full Steam Ahead," 12 Mar. 2020 Helping two other men who needed a third helper, an extra yank.
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Lisa Respers France, CNN, "'Billions' actress Melissa Errico helped save a man in the subway," 30 Aug. 2019 With one yank another young woman had undone the bow.
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Laura Jacobs, WSJ, "An Exhibition to Tickle You ‘Pink’," 11 Sep. 2018 On the single gravel turn used at the Phoenix test track, a quick yank on the handbrake is all that’s needed to make the car turn-in.
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Josh Jacquot, Car and Driver, "Behind the Wheel of Subaru's WRX STI Global Rallycross Car," 20 Oct. 2017 Sweed gave him a little yank, not even hard, on the jersey.
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Zach Helfand, latimes.com, "USC-Texas revisited: LenDale White and what happened after fourth-and-two," 13 Sep. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'yank.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for yank
yank
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of yank
(Entry 1 of 3)
: to suddenly pull (something) in a quick, forceful way
: to quickly or suddenly remove (something or someone)
Yank
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of Yank (Entry 3 of 3)
informal : a person from the U.S.
See the full definition for Yank in the English Language Learners Dictionary
yank
noun\ ˈyaŋk \
\Kids Definition of yank
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a strong sudden pull : jerk
yank
verbyanked; yanking
Kids Definition of yank (Entry 2 of 2)
: to pull suddenly or forcefully
I go over and yank his arm and make him sit down.— Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Shiloh
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Time Traveler for yank
The first known use of yank was in 1778
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