as in sides
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in adjoins
to be adjacent to
the guards flank the center on a football team's offensive line
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of flanks
Jack Bantock, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Everest’s Helicopter Rescue Pilots Daring aviators plucked stricken climbers from the flanks of Mount Everest throughout the 2025 season, saving many from certain death.
—The Editors, Outside, 15 Dec. 2025
Kentucky Camp sits amid the grasslands that cloak the eastern flanks of the Santa Rita Mountains northwest of Sonoita.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 12 Dec. 2025
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Mount Mandara became another major refuge, local communities built additional stone walls on the flanks to slow down the approach of the enemy.
—Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
The piebald deer seen in Walter Busby's doorbell camera footage, which the homeowner provided to Storyful, is primarily white, with darker spots on its flanks and ears.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025
Some plastic surgery eventually followed, including a breast augmentation after her first pregnancy, as well as liposuction on her tummy and flanks after her third, the 38-year- old reveals.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 24 Nov. 2025
Kaoru Mitoma and João Pedro have been constant threats on the flanks, while Pascal Groß remains the metronome in midfield, dictating the tempo with calm precision.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
Sunday’s point at Manchester City was valuable for Chelsea and their ability to create chances from the flanks (below) continues to be crucial.
—Jack Bantock, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Everest’s Helicopter Rescue Pilots Daring aviators plucked stricken climbers from the flanks of Mount Everest throughout the 2025 season, saving many from certain death.
—The Editors, Outside, 15 Dec. 2025
Kentucky Camp sits amid the grasslands that cloak the eastern flanks of the Santa Rita Mountains northwest of Sonoita.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 12 Dec. 2025
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Mount Mandara became another major refuge, local communities built additional stone walls on the flanks to slow down the approach of the enemy.
—Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
The piebald deer seen in Walter Busby's doorbell camera footage, which the homeowner provided to Storyful, is primarily white, with darker spots on its flanks and ears.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025
Some plastic surgery eventually followed, including a breast augmentation after her first pregnancy, as well as liposuction on her tummy and flanks after her third, the 38-year- old reveals.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 24 Nov. 2025
Kaoru Mitoma and João Pedro have been constant threats on the flanks, while Pascal Groß remains the metronome in midfield, dictating the tempo with calm precision.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
But Hawley flanks the familiar creature from the movies with a variety of new monsters that get unleashed in the Maginot crash.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flanks
Noun
-
The contrast stripes running down the sides of the legs add a fun, sporty touch.—
Annie Blackman,
InStyle,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Revolutions succeed when security forces refuse to fire on protesters or when significant military units switch sides.—
Narges Bajoghli,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The new building Musk posted about is in nearby Southaven, Mississippi, and adjoins the Colossus 2 facility, the Information reported earlier Tuesday, citing property records and a person familiar with the project.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
31 Dec. 2025
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Here, a marble island anchors the cooking space, which adjoins a more casual dining area and the family room.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
13 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Eventually, a second ICE vehicle joins, allowing the two cars to box Ecklund in.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
15 Jan. 2026
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Three-star transfer Landen Clark chose to move to LSU after a season with Elon University and five-star transfer Sam Leavitt joins the Tigers from Arizona State.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Everything Martha Stewart touches ultimately ends up with great critical acclaim, and this serum will not be an exception.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Running backs with 300-plus touches the previous season don’t generally repeat that volume the following season.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The show surrounds a competitive cheerleading coach, Courteney Potter, who, after being fired, seeks redemption by taking a new squad to the national championships.—
Colleen Bidwill,
Mercury News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Bubble fears surrounds stocks within the Magnificent 7 — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — as well as Oracle and Softbank and other tech companies’ multi-billion-dollar investments in the unrelenting buildout of humungous data centers to power their AI systems.—
Bob Woods,
CNBC,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flanks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flanks. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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