as in baton
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
in those days corporal punishment was common, and the cane was regarded as another one of the schoolmaster's educational tools
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as in to leather
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cane
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2025
The exploitation of enslaved laborers on cane plantations increased supply and decreased production costs.
—Nina Foster, JSTOR Daily, 28 Mar. 2025
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 July 2024
In the nearly 250 years since its founding, the United States has witnessed its fair share of political violence, from four presidential assassinations to an 1856 caning on the Senate floor to a 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol that left at least five dead.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for cane
Noun
Age finally seems to have caught up to him here, but that seems more about the performance — and Jim’s use of a cane — than Glenn himself.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2025
The exploitation of enslaved laborers on cane plantations increased supply and decreased production costs.
—Nina Foster, JSTOR Daily, 28 Mar. 2025
Verb
Prune the second-year, woody canes off summer-bearing raspberries once a year after the plants fruit.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 July 2024
In the nearly 250 years since its founding, the United States has witnessed its fair share of political violence, from four presidential assassinations to an 1856 caning on the Senate floor to a 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol that left at least five dead.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for cane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cane
Noun
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When more officers got to the scene, while officers held Nichols' arms and hit him with a barrage of kicks, punches, baton strikes and pepper spray.—
Jack Armstrong,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
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Video of the beating, captured by a police pole camera, showed Nichols being held by his arms as officers punched, kicked and struck him with a baton, according to reports from the AP and The Commercial Appeal newspaper.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Underneath her coat, Witherspoon wore an ankle-length black skirt and leather round-toe boots.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
28 Jan. 2025
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Compare with the Met’s full-size cast, from 1985, and these miniatures cleave the collective anguish into distinct emotions — one figure seems mid-dance, one bored, another ecstatic — in a range of patinas, from dark chocolate to leather.—
Walker Mimms,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Outfitters like Rio Adventures will strap you into a harness and send you paragliding above Ipanema beach.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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Vrabel strapped on a blocking pad and got knocked on his butt by Campbell, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.—
Doug Kyed,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Speccie’s star columnist is the rudest man in Christendom, the Godzilla of contumely, an all-time non-sufferer of fools who horsewhips his targets the way Hunter S. Thompson and Christopher Hitchens once did.—
Kyle Smith,
National Review,
23 Apr. 2020
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In reality, Watson wasn’t a bar fighter or famous for horsewhipping cowboys.—
Eliza McGraw,
Smithsonian,
12 Mar. 2018
Verb
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Hitler exploited his 37% to gridlock legislative processes, to cudgel or crush the political opposition, and ultimately to undermine the country’s democratic structures.—
Timothy Ryback,
TIME,
26 Apr. 2024
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Before long, fairs had such attractions as cudgelling bouts, bearbaiting, and something called gouging.—
Zach Helfand,
The New Yorker,
14 Aug. 2023
Verb
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In recent times, the series has been painstakingly flagellating itself for the past.—
Diego Argüello,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2025
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In recent times, the series has been painstakingly flagellating itself for the past.—
Diego Argüello,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Sylvia scourges herself with an intensity that would make hairshirted flagellants seem soft.—
Jim Higgins,
Journal Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2024
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Social instability and post-pandemic economic pressures fueled surges in migration across the world. 2023 will probably be the hottest year on record, with heat waves scourging every continent, accompanied by other extreme climactic events.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
Washington Post,
22 Dec. 2023
Verb
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Treats that are hard or crunchy (such as bones or rawhide chews) Is cheese bad for dogs?—
Amber Smith,
Discover Magazine,
19 Oct. 2022
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DreamBones, a healthy alternative to rawhide, is great for dogs who love to chew, and a bag of 24 treats is 52 percent off.—
Carly Kulzer,
PEOPLE.com,
7 May 2022
Cite this Entry
“Cane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cane. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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