as in adjacent
having a border in common
flanking farms that share the same water source
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in adjoining
to be adjacent to
the guards flank the center on a football team's offensive line
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in envelopment
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of flanking
Lauren Jones, Southern Living, 4 Sep. 2025
Outlets including The Hollywood Reporter captured footage of Lena and Werner flanking the Godfather director, holding his hands and posing for photos.
—Jack Smart, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Two speaker grilles are at the bottom, flanking the USB-C port.
—PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2025
While that centers around burgeoning star Victor Wembanyama, flanking him are a pair of top-five picks from the last two drafts.
—Bobby Krivitsky, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Colorado’s first two lines, assuming good health, look pretty set — centers Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson with some combination of Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, Gabe Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin flanking them.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2025
Spectators gather on wooden bleachers flanking a long dirt runway, forming an arena that seats 4,000 people — more than the surrounding area's total population.
—Zach Jaworski, NPR, 18 Aug. 2025
Two homes flanking the Shultas Place residence were singed when winds fanned the flames outward, but firefighters were able to stop them from completely catching fire, the Hartford Courant reported.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 18 Aug. 2025
Symmetry seekers might opt for a pair of matching tables flanking a sofa.
—Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
Front Entry and Porch Updates Virginia designer Erin Tripodi is a fan of flanking a front door with large, symmetrical planters.
—Lauren Jones, Southern Living, 4 Sep. 2025
Outlets including The Hollywood Reporter captured footage of Lena and Werner flanking the Godfather director, holding his hands and posing for photos.
—Jack Smart, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Two speaker grilles are at the bottom, flanking the USB-C port.
—PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2025
While that centers around burgeoning star Victor Wembanyama, flanking him are a pair of top-five picks from the last two drafts.
—Bobby Krivitsky, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Colorado’s first two lines, assuming good health, look pretty set — centers Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson with some combination of Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, Gabe Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin flanking them.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2025
Spectators gather on wooden bleachers flanking a long dirt runway, forming an arena that seats 4,000 people — more than the surrounding area's total population.
—Zach Jaworski, NPR, 18 Aug. 2025
Two homes flanking the Shultas Place residence were singed when winds fanned the flames outward, but firefighters were able to stop them from completely catching fire, the Hartford Courant reported.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 18 Aug. 2025
Symmetry seekers might opt for a pair of matching tables flanking a sofa.
—Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flanking
Adjective
-
Prosecutors say a fair trial would be impossible not only in this mountain community of fewer than 22,000 people, but also any other adjacent county because the suspect and victim were both well known.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The Gary Housing Authority, which owns the schools, and the city of Gary are completing state and federal approvals for the demolition of Emerson and Horace Mann, and two adjacent vacant elementaries, Spaulding and Vohr.—
Carole Carlson,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Empress Tavern, the basement-level restaurant adjoining the theater which shut down during the pandemic, reopened this spring for private events and concerts hosted by a local nonprofit.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
30 Aug. 2025
-
By 1938, the Netherlands had a 1,170-mile main-road network, 866 miles of which had adjoining cycleways.—
Carlton Reid,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Whether the Supreme Court fires this blast or not, Republicans need to be aware that breaking up majority-minority districts, and dispersing those voters into neighboring districts to dilute their voting power, may well make those neighboring districts less safe for Republican incumbents.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
-
How the jackpots got so large The first multi-state lottery was started in 1985 by three small states – Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine – which joined together to better compete with neighboring Massachusetts.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Soliman had been swept into custody, joining a record 61,000 people now in ICE detention.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Those traits all kind of culminated in me joining the Kansas City Defender around the time of the protests.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This time producer Brad Ingelsby tapped Mark Ruffalo as a depressed and traumatized FBI agent leading a task force investigating a series of home invasions targeting drug dens in the area.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Kim, Xi and Putin gathered for the military parade amid Ukrainian and Western concerns over the collaboration of the three nations in bolstering Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ongoing since February 2022.—
Leah Sarnoff,
ABC News,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Additionally, Florida's Miccosukee Tribe claimed the facility impacted its access to the surrounding area and posed risks to the tribe's food and water supply.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Parts of it would be carved up and grafted onto surrounding Democratic-leaning districts, and a significant portion would be added to a new Latino-majority seat in central Los Angeles County, basically leaving Calvert with a viable district from which to seek reelection.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for foreign fighters to join his country’s International Legion, which supplements the army’s ranks to counter Russia’s incursion.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Johnson announced the news late Friday as many Chicagoans were preoccupied with the impending federal incursion or already logged off for the week.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Rafael Nadal was famous for pulling at his shorts, tucking his hair behind his ears, and touching his nose, for example, while Serena Williams was known to bounce her ball a specific number of times (five on the first serve, and two on the second).—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
5 Sep. 2025
-
And also as an only child that's touching to see them together.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flanking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flanking. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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