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
Stephen Pyne, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024
Only the snarl of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 will give away that this wagon’s packing 603 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of yank.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
John Carlisle, Freep.com, 23 July 2025
Mike Trout walked and then Taylor Ward yanked a two-run double into left field.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for yank
Noun
With tugs and yanks and positive feedback, a planetary makeover began that is rampant today.
—Stephen Pyne, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024
Only the snarl of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 will give away that this wagon’s packing 603 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of yank.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
Since then, it’s been sitting where it was left after being yanked from the water.
—John Carlisle, Freep.com, 23 July 2025
Mike Trout walked and then Taylor Ward yanked a two-run double into left field.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for yank
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yank
Noun
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They aren’t constrained by attention spans or the pull of conformity.—
Neeraj Gulati,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
-
Architect and San Diego native Mark Silva couldn’t resist the pull.—
Jen Murphy,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Just a few blocks from arrival, the car lurched toward the other lane—which was, thankfully, empty—and immediately jerked back.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
13 May 2025
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Having already had to navigate a 180-degree turn around a roundabout at 80km per hour, the road jerked to the left with around 1.6km remaining and, with some riders forced wide, the group was split.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
Verb
-
But Sunday, unfortunately for him, slipped away quickly as World No. 1 grabbed his fifth season title.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
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Four prisoners had to take turns using a bunk bed just to grab a few hours of sleep.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The nearby fire department rushed by boat to the crash site and were assisted by a private tug boat that helped douse the fire that belched black smoke from the barge, said Alton Deputy Fire Chief Matt Fischer.—
Jesse Bedayn,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
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Most exoplanetary discoveries instead arise through far more indirect means, such as the dip in a star’s light caused by a world passing between its sun and our telescope or the tiny wobbling of a star caused by an orbiting planet’s gravitational tug.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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One of the 50 boys starts convulsing on the road, and as Jonsson and Hoffman’s characters walk backwards to see what happens, soldiers have their guns trained on his twitching body before a gunshot rings out.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
25 July 2025
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This is why after a snake is killed, its body will still twitch and move around, and why its head can still bite.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Pieces from Stock are often plucked by stylists for celebrity editorials for Vanity Fair, Esquire and GQ.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
6 Aug. 2025
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Unlike many popular artists, she was never classically trained or in any other bands, nor was she plucked from obscurity to perform assembly-line creations.—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
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His left leg, almost ripped from his body, was held in place only by thin tissue.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
18 Aug. 2025
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Nothing rips me out of the ‘cassette futurism’ of this franchise more than clips from a movie that released in 2002.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Later in the drive, FSD lurched right – for no apparent reason – and tried to go down a steep driveway grade toward a locked gate.—
Brooke Crothers,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
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From the outside, the company has appeared to be lurching from one crisis to the next.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yank. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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