as in batons
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of canes
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Nov. 2025
Avoid long or sharp swords, sticks or canes to prevent injury if a child trips and falls.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
Floribunda roses require a hard pruning in the spring to encourage large blooms, so only perform maintenance cuts to remove dead or diseased canes in the fall and reduce height.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
To help your plants establish, make sure to get potted raspberries in the ground at least 4 to 6 weeks before frost is expected, or choose bare root canes, which are dormant and can be planted even later in the season, as long as the ground isn't frozen.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Nov. 2025
Avoid long or sharp swords, sticks or canes to prevent injury if a child trips and falls.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
Floribunda roses require a hard pruning in the spring to encourage large blooms, so only perform maintenance cuts to remove dead or diseased canes in the fall and reduce height.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canes
Noun
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Dozens of agents swarmed the area along with a military vehicle, Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, told USA TODAY, saying agents used batons and mace on demonstrators.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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Today his agents used batons and pepper spray on street vendors and bystanders on Canal Street.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To mark the occasion, Crumbl is also releasing limited-edition Martha Stewart boxes for its six-pack orders — perfect for gifting or adding a touch of elegance to any gathering.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
3 Nov. 2025
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This all played out just after the museum had opened, with bystanders able to video one suspect in a high-visibility vest standing at one of the glass boxes housing historical treasures.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ten years after his expulsion, Saleh’s third feature in the trilogy, after Boy From Heaven, socks it to Egypt’s military leaders and General Intelligence Service (GIS), and by implication al-Sisi.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Fed up with Nicky’s dramatics, Lester uses his elevator crank and whacks the former hard in the back of his neck.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
28 Oct. 2025
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Fanning flatlines when left to be a solo show as Bertino whacks her around like a pinball, hitting big, loud scares that seem to keep resetting.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Vote of confidence Heweliusz represents a huge vote of confidence from Netflix in CEE as the streamer celebrates its decade in a region that punches above its weight and has a bustling local entertainment sector.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
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Founded in 1777, Lexington is home to both Washington & Lee University and Virginia Military Institute (VMI), and the presence of the universities no doubt plays a part in a cultural richness that punches above its weight class for a tiny town of just 7,000 people.—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The sequencer pastes together the strings and the quality scores, along with some other metadata, read by read, to form what is called a FASTQ file.—
Dmitri Pavlichin,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Aug. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Canes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canes. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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