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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of yank
Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 24 Mar. 2026
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
Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 4 June 2026
Her only help came from a passenger who yanked the girls away.
—Caitlin McGlade, Charlotte Observer, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for yank
Noun
Soy sauce, Maggi seasoning, daikon and shiitake mushroom yank pot roast into new territory.
—Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 24 Mar. 2026
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
Verb
Investors in Blackstone’s flagship private credit fund sought to yank 10% of their money this quarter, showing that the jitters engulfing the industry may be deepening.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 4 June 2026
Her only help came from a passenger who yanked the girls away.
—Caitlin McGlade, Charlotte Observer, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for yank
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yank
Noun
-
There is a deep, innate pull that brings New Englanders home.—
Todd Plummer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 June 2026
-
Mini dresses make my tiny legs look miles long, and this pull-on style from Missactiver is no exception.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Although not all the novel’s major characters make it to the end of this uplifting yet tear-jerking work of historical fiction, Six-Thirty safely perseveres.—
Camille Perri,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
-
My biggest frustration is the way the operators literally jerk us around with the sudden hard stops.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Go ahead and pluck away without the stress.—
Alanna Martine Kilkeary,
Glamour,
10 June 2026
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Elsewhere on the ruby red carpet, Greta Lee paid homage to beloved cowgirl, Jessie, brought to life by Joan Cusack in all five films, wearing a red and white spherical, one-shoulder gown plucked straight from the Christian Dior spring 2026 couture runway.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Grant asks Chris about the boxing gloves now for sale in the night store, but Katie forestalls him by running over and grabbing them, nearly flattening Chris.—
Tasha Robinson,
Vulture,
16 June 2026
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Demonstrators grabbed bricks from the ground to throw at police, as tear gas was deployed in Geneva's streets, witnesses told Reuters.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
15 June 2026
Noun
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In the last two months, alligators have been spotted sitting on a front porch, playing tug of war with police officers, walking from house to house, and on Tuesday, June 9, one was found shot to death.—
Eva Flowe
June 12,
Charlotte Observer,
12 June 2026
-
Cleaner airport operations Still, the aircraft tug does far more than just slash emissions.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Leon Stetson was allegedly twitching, so officers moved him away from Carrie Stetson and started to render medical aid.—
Kellie Love,
Hartford Courant,
12 June 2026
-
Durrell alternates between slapstick domestic high jinks, wanderings through the lush natural landscape, and increasingly ambitious investigations of biological life, from tracking twitching bacteria in pond water to the mating habits of insects.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
Verb
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This device accomplishes the feat by extracting two distinct, valuable chemical products from the energy of a single photon of light.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
12 June 2026
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Quintin said that once MDM is removed from a phone, Verizon probably would not have any other method to extract data from it.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Shayne Gostisbehere ripped a shot on goal, and after Hart made the save, Staal was first to find the puck and a clear shot right in front of the goal.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
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Others threw glass objects at people and ripped bus signs and trees out of the ground.—
Mark Morales,
CNN Money,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yank. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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