How to Use shank in a Sentence

shank

1 of 2 noun
  • Cullen and the men who killed him each had a shank.
    — Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Think short ribs, oxtail, shanks, or even brisket point cut.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 20 Feb. 2026
  • In Swift’s case, her large rock is bezel set on a split-shank gold band.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Then there’s the beef shank and brisket, both braised to peak fall-apart-y texture.
    — Rachel Karten, Bon Appétit, 6 Jan. 2020
  • The shank is made of 18-karat gold but the gold is hand painted.
    — Carol Besler, Robb Report, 19 May 2021
  • The hex shank is convenient for most drills and quick-change adapters, too.
    — Alex Rennie, Popular Mechanics, 26 Jan. 2023
  • The three most common cuts of ham are butt end, ham shank, and center slice.
    — Patricia S York, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2021
  • Crawford’s throat was slashed with a homemade knife, known as a shiv or shank.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 27 Oct. 2019
  • Good—since our experts stressed that the shank of the shoe should be pretty rigid.
    — Deanna Pai, Glamour, 14 Feb. 2023
  • The shank should fit well to the handle and the handle should be clean, not gunky.
    — Robin Tribble, Popular Mechanics, 30 Nov. 2018
  • The three most common cuts of ham are the butt end, ham shank, and center slice.
    — Patricia S York, Southern Living, 27 Jan. 2024
  • The fly is usually tied with weight on the shank and with a black glass bead at the front.
    — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2018
  • Wrap the yarn back up the shank toward the eye, stopping one width of yarn short of the eye.
    — Aleta Burchyski, Outside Online, 20 May 2020
  • Pre-drill with a bit just slightly narrower than the screw shank.
    — Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2019
  • Drill a screw-shank clearance hole through the cleat at each stud location.
    — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 24 Jan. 2019
  • If the remaining beef shank is tender enough, shred the meat and add to the pot.
    — Danny Chau, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2022
  • The bones in trotters and shanks provide gelatin, which thickens the stew.
    — Catherine M. Allchin, The Seattle Times, 11 Dec. 2018
  • The bolt shank could break, or the threads may strip, providing no clamping force at all.
    — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 21 May 2021
  • The shank measured 6 inches long.
    — Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
  • Secure the dumbbell eyes to the top of the shank with a series of figure-8 wraps.
    — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Boos rain down as Jeremy Crawshaw shanks that punt off the side of his foot.
    — Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Next, reach for a forkful of lamb tugged from a shank and coupled with a stray almond sliver.
    — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2021
  • After a couple shanks, Sanchez launches one on line.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
  • These bits feature a U-type slot design with a three-flat shank for no slipping.
    — Allen Foster, chicagotribune.com, 25 Feb. 2021
  • The screw forces the shank of the anchor to split and expand, giving this style of anchor its name.
    — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Feb. 2023
  • Beef shank provides a good ratio of meat with bone and can be used for the entirety of the meat's needs.
    — Minerva Orduño Rincón, The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Four flutes for clean drilling and the bits feature a three-flat shank to eliminate slipping in the chuck.
    — Allen Foster, chicagotribune.com, 25 Feb. 2021
  • The best lamb to use is the cut that takes the least time to cook — boneless leg cut from the sirloin end (not the shank end).
    — Sheryl Julian, BostonGlobe.com, 28 May 2018
  • That was the sound of a savvy fanbase relieved to see something something other than a shank.
    — Joseph Goodman | [email protected], al, 23 Oct. 2019
  • Nearly 20 mezze launch the menu, and the entrees include a showy lamb shank served on a slab of tree.
    — Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2022

shank

2 of 2 verb
  • But Sane shanks the kick, and his attempt goes nowhere near the goal.
    — Joel Petterson, New York Times, 29 June 2018
  • Peak Toews would have buried that puck; this version shanked it wide.
    — Murat Ates, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Nestle the veal shanks back into the pot, add the wine, and bring to a boil.
    — Tyler Florence, House Beautiful, 6 Jan. 2011
  • Murphy then missed his first kick of the day, shanking the extra point to the right.
    — Jenna Malinowski, Detroit Free Press, 29 May 2023
  • The try from distance was shanked to the right, and Nobles still had life at the break.
    — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
  • Gould shanked another one in this game, a 45-yarder in the first quarter that sailed wide left.
    — Tom Schad, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2019
  • But on the flip side, the PGA Tour needed to be shanked up a bit.
    — Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Aug. 2025
  • The punt was shanked and only went 10 yards giving the Broncos their first break.
    — David Taylor, Houston Chronicle, 14 Oct. 2019
  • Sleep-Dalton then shanked it out of bounds, the punt going only 12 yards.
    — Kirk Kenney, sandiegouniontribune.com, 9 Sep. 2017
  • Jeff Locke shanked one punt out of bounds for a net of 29 yards but was solid otherwise.
    — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 8 Oct. 2017
  • Kerber shanked a backhand off Williams’s return, and Williams had a chance to serve for the match.
    — New York Times, 28 May 2018
  • Aegon even gets a good pouncing move on one of the soldiers, shanking him to death with a broken arrow.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • The Redwolves shank the punt, and it's downed on the Bobcats' 44-yard line.
    — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Crenshaw shanked a 26-yard punt that helped set up the Dukes’ first score, a 40-yard field goal.
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 6 Dec. 2025
  • Three plays resulted in a loss of seven yards, and Britton Colquitt shanked a punt.
    — Chris Tomasson, Twin Cities, 3 Nov. 2019
  • But the Argentine made a rare mistake from that spot, shanking it high over the crossbar.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Give me the basketball star who shanks crucial free throws and the goaltender in hockey who slips and lets the winning slap shot whir by.
    — Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 6 June 2023
  • One of Weston’s punts was a touchback, and one of the two kicked out of bounds was shanked for a net of 13 yards.
    — Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 27 Oct. 2025
  • De Paul had a great chance to seal the win in stoppage time but shanked an open-net opportunity over the crossbar.
    — Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
  • Martin dropped four punts inside the 20, but also shanked a 35-yard punt at the end of the third quarter.
    — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 11 Nov. 2019
  • The barbecue pork shank along with the Carolina shrimp and grits is perfection.
    — cleveland, 22 Dec. 2020
  • At that point the suspect appears to shank Duncomb in the back, missing his spinal cord by a few inches, the report said.
    — Fox News, 30 July 2020
  • Scott shanked a punt in the fourth quarter that went just 31 yards and set the Giants up in plus territory.
    — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Zverev broke Cobolli’s serve in a long opening game when Cobolli shanked a forehand into the first row of the stands.
    — Andrew Dampf, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
  • McIlroy, who laughed as the critter scampered about, eventually shanked his drive.
    — Christopher Hanna, courant.com, 25 June 2018
  • Rachel threatens to shank Mercedes with a piece of plane debris over the Patsy Cline solo.
    — Maggie Olmsted, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2022
  • Evans did shank a punt for 33 yards right after the two-minute warning to give the Bears great field position down one score in the fourth.
    — The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2026
  • Will Hart shanks one 21 yards, Cincinnati has the ball at the Wolverines' 46-yard line.
    — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 9 Sep. 2017
  • Federer shanked a potential backhand pass, and Anderson had saved the match point.
    — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, 11 July 2018
  • The punt was shanked and the Seminoles moved quickly on a three-play, 39-yard drive to finally score its first touchdown of the night.
    — Jenna West, SI.com, 14 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shank.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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