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
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Recent Examples of canes
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
Since the goal is to remove most of the old stems, prune back thick remaining stems to new canes that develop lower on the stem over the next couple of years.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Raspberries have round, smooth canes (stems) and blackberry canes have ridges.
—Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 7 Mar. 2026
Rehabilitative strategies that rely on multisensory processing could boost outcomes, such as using canes for mobility or auditory aids that allow the newly-sighted to simultaneously use cues from other senses while learning to see.
—Sachin Rawat, Big Think, 2 Mar. 2026
They were pinched, prodded, cut, shocked, pierced with needles, struck with canes, and burned with acid.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Exceeding long canes can be shortened, but most are left as long as possible.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
Noun
Repeating this cycle helps replace older canes with new, stronger growth.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
Since the goal is to remove most of the old stems, prune back thick remaining stems to new canes that develop lower on the stem over the next couple of years.
—Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Raspberries have round, smooth canes (stems) and blackberry canes have ridges.
—Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 7 Mar. 2026
Rehabilitative strategies that rely on multisensory processing could boost outcomes, such as using canes for mobility or auditory aids that allow the newly-sighted to simultaneously use cues from other senses while learning to see.
—Sachin Rawat, Big Think, 2 Mar. 2026
They were pinched, prodded, cut, shocked, pierced with needles, struck with canes, and burned with acid.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Exceeding long canes can be shortened, but most are left as long as possible.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canes
Noun
-
Edris steals a glance at a dozen or two golden batons rising at eye level.—
Sarah Blaskovich,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Police used batons, tear gas, and live fire to disperse the crowd.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Nick Phillips, with Applied Digital, said the tax exemption ban effectively boxes out data centers from building in South Dakota.—
Makenzie Huber,
States Newsroom,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The rich Redfellows get dispatched one by one in scenes that are fun but empty — neither cathartic nor comic, simply boxes to be checked off to great big poundings of thunder and harpsichords.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The makeup department added scars to Shaynak’s knees and legs to reflect his character’s backstory, but the compression socks Shaynak wore were his own.—
Marah Eakin,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
-
In addition to tops and bottoms, don’t forget to snag this pair of Merino wool socks for just $11.—
Jasmine Gomez,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Then little Holly Wheeler and her 10-year-old friends, including the Season 5 favorite Derek (Jake Connelly), all swarm into the basement and take over the D&D table in a passing of the torch that basically whacks the audience over our collective heads.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
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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
Verb
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All three appear to assessing damage and talking before Riley punches a rear quarter window on Barber's vehicle, the complaint said.—
Drake Bentley,
jsonline.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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After letting other fast men hit out first in the wind, Magnier punches through the middle and there is nothing that rivals Jordi Meeus or Jasper Philipsen can do.—
Andy McGrath,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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 14 Mar. 2026.
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