yanked; yanking; yanks
: 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
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
Emily Berk, NBC news, 20 June 2025
There was a collective gasp when Ohtani yanked a pitch that sailed to the backstop, allowing Tatis to get to second base.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 June 2025
Brendan Marks, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Each blade has a pull tab at the top of its cartridge; just give it a gentle yank to remove it.
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yank
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Verb
The injunction holds that the administration is blocked from yanking Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which was based on a May 22 revocation notice the Department of Homeland Security sent to Harvard administrators.
—Emily Berk, NBC news, 20 June 2025
There was a collective gasp when Ohtani yanked a pitch that sailed to the backstop, allowing Tatis to get to second base.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 June 2025
Noun
Four yanks later, voila: Clayton had pulled free his prize, leaving just a single strand of nylon stuck in the Alamodome rim.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Each blade has a pull tab at the top of its cartridge; just give it a gentle yank to remove it.
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yank
Cite this Entry
“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yank. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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