as in knife
an instrument with a metal length that has a sharp edge for cutting
slashed at the prison guard with a shank he had secretly made from a scrap of metal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of shank
Boos rain down as Jeremy Crawshaw shanks that punt off the side of his foot.
—
Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
Homemade knives, called shanks, are plentiful inside the prison, several inmates said.
—Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 5 Nov. 2025
Start with a glass of stout and the Hungarian mushroom soup before moving on to either the pork shank, prime rib (the best in town) or Amish chicken for an entree.
—Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2025
Some of my favorite cuts for braising include pork shoulder, beef brisket, short ribs, chicken thighs, and lamb shanks.
—Carole Kotkin, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shank
Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
Homemade knives, called shanks, are plentiful inside the prison, several inmates said.
—Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 5 Nov. 2025
Start with a glass of stout and the Hungarian mushroom soup before moving on to either the pork shank, prime rib (the best in town) or Amish chicken for an entree.
—Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2025
Some of my favorite cuts for braising include pork shoulder, beef brisket, short ribs, chicken thighs, and lamb shanks.
—Carole Kotkin, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shank
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shank
Noun
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Firefighters said that one person was hospitalized with injuries sustained in the incident, and Los Angeles police said that the person's injuries were consistent with a knife wound.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
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Flat front panel and knife pleats around the back.—
Molly Guthrey,
Twin Cities,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Mark Anderson, a 36-year-old from Minnesota, allegedly showed up to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn in January with a barbecue fork and a pizza cutter and, when jail guards asked for credentials, threw papers at them, according to prosecutors.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
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The solution is not special equipment; anyone should be able to make a great biscuit with just forks, a knife, and either a pastry cutter or two spatulas.—
Ella Quittner,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shank. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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