as in tugs
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in jerks
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 pulls
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 grabs
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 yanks
Kirk Bowman,
The Conversation,
9 June 2026
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
Maden takes thee wine bottle from him and the officers reach for his wrists but Brown resists and yanks his arms back, the video shows.
—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Leaphorn yanks the jug his way (despite being cuffed) and is able to put the filter packet down his pants.
—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Apr. 2026
According to the footage, Falcinelli then moves toward the officer before the officer yanks him by the arm.
—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Behind Jovan, the posse breaks into boardinghouses, yanks a miner from behind a grocery counter, shoots another dead in his home.
—
Masha Hamilton,
Longreads,
19 Feb. 2026
Judy yanks Mikey’s roller trunk out of the mud and leads him toward one of the nearby hiking trails.
—
Michael Nied,
PEOPLE,
26 Nov. 2025
Thing rebels against his master and yanks out his clockwork heart.
—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
After deciding to take his family to a tourist town for some fun in the sun, a minor encounter with local bullies yanks the family into the crosshairs of an unhinged, blood-thirsty crime boss (Sharon Stone), who is determined to derail his relaxation.
—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
The yanks are coming, the yanks are coming!
—
Kirk Bowman,
The Conversation,
9 June 2026
Verb
Like a false note on an out-of-tune piano, a clunky verb, a sentence without rhythm, yanks the reader out the flow of the work.
—
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
Maden takes thee wine bottle from him and the officers reach for his wrists but Brown resists and yanks his arms back, the video shows.
—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Leaphorn yanks the jug his way (despite being cuffed) and is able to put the filter packet down his pants.
—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Apr. 2026
According to the footage, Falcinelli then moves toward the officer before the officer yanks him by the arm.
—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Behind Jovan, the posse breaks into boardinghouses, yanks a miner from behind a grocery counter, shoots another dead in his home.
—
Masha Hamilton,
Longreads,
19 Feb. 2026
Judy yanks Mikey’s roller trunk out of the mud and leads him toward one of the nearby hiking trails.
—
Michael Nied,
PEOPLE,
26 Nov. 2025
Thing rebels against his master and yanks out his clockwork heart.
—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
After deciding to take his family to a tourist town for some fun in the sun, a minor encounter with local bullies yanks the family into the crosshairs of an unhinged, blood-thirsty crime boss (Sharon Stone), who is determined to derail his relaxation.
—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yanks
Noun
-
In contrast to conventional airport tugs, the electric TaxiBot is controlled directly by the pilot from the cockpit.
-
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.
Verb
-
In a viral video of the aftermath, the robot jerks back and forth to shake the glass off, showering yet more dangerous shards onto the sidewalk.
-
Ross’s video does not show if the SUV made contact with him, as the camera angle jerks up to the sky.
Verb
-
Sandoval seemingly tries to wrestle the phone from her before her father tries to intervene and pulls Sandoval off of her.
-
Anthropic did not build Claude Tag as a standalone destination that pulls work out of a company's existing tools.
Verb
-
What actually cuts through and grabs attention nowadays is humanity, clarity and credibility in messaging.
-
When Martinez throws something back, the woman rushes toward her, throws her to the ground, grabs her by the hair and repeatedly attacks her as bystanders try to step in and help.
Verb
-
Persistent muscle twitches Everyone’s muscles twitch from time to time, usually at various locations.
-
Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.
Verb
-
There are swooping close encounters with heavenly bodies, Lego blocks in antigravity mode and swarms of Separators, a sort of astro-anthropomorphic version of the tool that pries apart Lego bricks in real life.
-
The show’s biggest laugh may come when Testa pries open Costanzo’s mouth and pronounces just how many performances of Norma Galas has left.
Verb
-
While the director tears his hair out, the producers see the footage and sign the Minions on the spot, but their fame is short-lived with the arrival of the talkies.
-
Peppler tears big chunks of it off and passes it around for everyone to try, before illustrating the culinary importance of a good pissaladière.
Verb
-
The film unhurriedly lurches from one markedly similar fight scene to the next, with only Skeletor’s occasional injections of ripe innuendo to liven them up a bit.
-
By the end, Noonan’s film stops feeling like a first date and starts to resemble the makings of a crime scene as his mood lurches toward something dangerous.
Cite this Entry
“Yanks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yanks. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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