Synonyms of flank

flank 1 of 2

noun

ˈflaŋk 

as in side

a place, space, or direction away from or beyond a central point or line

painted the name of the ship along its flank

Synonyms & Similar Words

• side
• top
• foot
• underside
• outside
• hand
• bottom
• left
• face
• right
• lee
• undersurface
• windward
• leeward
• underbody
• underbelly
• underpart

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• center
• middle
• interior
• inside
• midway

flank

2 of 2

verb

as in to join

to be adjacent to

the guards flank the center on a football team's offensive line

Synonyms & Similar Words

• join
• adjoin
• surround
• touch
• neighbor
• fringe
• march (with)
• verge (on)
• abut
• line
• skirt
• fence
• border (on)
• butt (on or against)
• meet
• communicate (with)
• attach (to)
• connect (with)
• margin
• encircle
• bound
• link (with)
• enclose
• converge
• rim
• contact
• embrace

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of flank

Noun

Earlier this month, a Russian drone hit a train near Ukraine’s border with Poland as a group of former Western officials traveled out of the country, and NATO countries on the alliance’s eastern flank remain on high alert. — Adrienne Vogt, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026

Normally, water temperatures on the western flank of Baja California do not support hurricanes. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Verb

Eight Zoom boxes, each occupied by lawyers for Paramount or California, flanked the judge on the screen. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2026

Much of the stone used to construct Hadrian’s Wall and its forts and milecastles was recycled over the centuries, but the stone footings largely remain, as do the flanking ditches. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 21 Sep. 2026