as in slap
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
delivered a quick spank to the child's bottom for disobedience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spank
Noun
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A couple of good back slaps and thumps from the adoring crowd.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025 -
Karl turned on the headlights and got the windshield wipers going at a mad slap.—
Ann Patchett,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The baby used her tail to smack the bird before taking it underwater, resurfacing to show boaters the bird had been skinned, the group said.—
Paloma Chavez,
Sacbee.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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The flintlock coughed a lot of smoke, but Zutterman heard the 270-grain roundball smack the buck.—
Bob McNally,
Outdoor Life,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The dramatic thump of the ship’s four electromagnetic catapults which shoot them into the sky is constant and can be heard throughout the ship.—
Matthew Bodner,
NBC news,
25 Sep. 2025
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The Red Sox are in a good spot for their future, but their lineup clearly needs more thump.—
Tim Crowley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Those boys, in theory, enjoy turning lights on and off and knocking things off the wall.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
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One of the key pieces of evidence during the trial was a 2016 hotel security video of Combs kicking, punching and knocking Ventura to the ground; prosecutors also showed photos of bruising and other injuries that Ventura alleged were inflicted by Combs throughout their decade-long relationship.—
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yes, the Seahawks entered the game short-handed in the secondary, then suffered another blow when cornerback Riq Woolen suffered a concussion in the third quarter.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Business is booming, but President Chris Kohnle worries the 80-year-old, family-run establishment could soon take a blow.—
Miranda Dunlap,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For many, banging them in against the likes of Konyaspor and Goztepe last term is not a convincing retort to those questions.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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If all of this were a subtle read of the American mainstream media’s inadequacy in covering Palestine with any amount of empathy, or its eagerness to bang the drum in support of America’s war games, that would be an unexpected, refreshingly subversive perspective.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Varsho finished with four hits and four RBI in his five at-bats.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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At the end of that episode, Grasso calls Tom to tell him about the hit on the Dark Hearts stash house, seemingly because Grasso got called in by them and ended up being first on the scene before other cops.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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An overlapping full-back who can whip over a hell of a cross.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Pretty sure the border is whipped topping as well.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
5 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Spank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spank. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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