as in pull
the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force
had to give the shoe a good yank to get it off
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to jerk
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
she stupidly yanked the wheel while I was driving
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to pull
to draw out by force or with effort
yanked out a tooth with a pair of pliers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to grab
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
grab the other one, and let's see if we can't yank these two grocery carriages apart
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of yank
Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Visitors to China will want to lighten their grip, while folks introducing themselves to Germans should know to stop after one firm downward yank.
—Chris Ciolli, AFAR Media, 15 July 2025
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 1 June 2026
There are stories of major Nashville players yanking him off the street, keeping him drunk for days in hotels, then leaving Knoxville with stacks of new songs.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for yank
Noun
Effectively, this turned the workspace into a yank buffer along with all your documents, and undoing any destructive editing operation thus became merely another cut and paste.
—Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Visitors to China will want to lighten their grip, while folks introducing themselves to Germans should know to stop after one firm downward yank.
—Chris Ciolli, AFAR Media, 15 July 2025
Verb
With both Democrats and even Republican allies objecting to the fund, the White House was planning to yank the controversial fund, Axios reported, quoting several aides.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 1 June 2026
There are stories of major Nashville players yanking him off the street, keeping him drunk for days in hotels, then leaving Knoxville with stacks of new songs.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for yank
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yank
Noun
-
In addition to queen rooms, there is also a family suite option with a private King room, bunk beds and a queen-sized pull-out with a kitchenette.—
Ella Gonzales
May 29,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 May 2026
-
Yet the pull toward the art world soon became undeniable.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Physical tics can be as subtle as eye blinking, or involve jerking the arms, or stretching the neck.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
-
In the summer of 2020, former Morgan Stanley trader Adam Crawley was wandering through Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, perfecting his qigong with a man called Master YanG, when a cold message on LinkedIn jerked him back to reality.—
Phoebe Liu,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
There’s plenty to see and do on this one street—stop by Colonial Park Cemetery, established in 1750; the Juliet Gordon Low Birthplace Museum, honoring the founder of the Girl Scouts; then grab a bite at Marbled & Fin, where luxe appetizers and aged steaks reign supreme.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 June 2026
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After Corbin made his introduction to the Islanders as a whole back at the fire pit, Melanie was the first to grab him for a chat.—
Carolyn Burt,
Oc Register,
9 June 2026
Noun
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However, instead of the pilot starting the engines during pushback and the tug disconnecting afterward, TaxiBot remains attached to the nose gear via a specialized pivoting clamping platform.—
David Szondy
June 07,
New Atlas,
7 June 2026
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Its tech is being used to power the world’s first electric tugs that are about to go into service at the Port of Long Beach, under a deal worth $160 million announced in late 2025.—
Alan Ohnsman,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
The Hormuz crisis will not end when oil markets stop twitching.—
John W.H. Denton AO,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
-
The Buena Vista Social Club features feet-twitching music and Wolf says that, obviously, people want to get up and dance but that’s just not allowed.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Whatever is plucked from the vegetable patch that day appears on the menu, accompanied by dangerously tasty sourdough, fermented using the appley waste from the cider production.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Decisive to their survival was the no-name midfielder Sabatini plucked out of Brazil.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
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In standard laser designs, this structural stress causes the hyper-fast pulses to destabilize and rip themselves apart.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
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On the first pitch of his assignment, Lewis ripped a 91 mph cutter from Omaha’s Mitch Spence for a home run.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
The energy crisis has only amplified that business case as fuel prices lurch.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
29 May 2026
-
Instead of thoughtful, adaptive action, characters lurch between hesitation and reckless decisions, with catastrophic results.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yank. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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