yank 1 of 2

noun

Definition of yanknext
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

yank

2 of 2

verb

ˈyaŋk How to pronounce yank (audio)
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 show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of 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
Three consecutive mayors had called for an end to the carriage rides because of safety concerns, only to have lawmakers yank back the reins. — Anthony Izaguirre, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 The force of my fall on the rope yanked her upward and slammed her against the rock. — Daniel Duane, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for yank
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yank
  1. pull
  2. jerk
  3. pluck
  4. grab
  5. tug
  6. twitch
  7. extract
  8. rip
Noun
  • One study found that review models performed far worse on real pull requests than on synthetic bugs.
    — Jeff An, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Recently, a new wave of openings and renovations has joined them, in step with Scotland’s creative pull.
    — Katharine Sohn, Architectural Digest, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of pull
Verb
  • During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Drivers should never swerve or jerk the steering wheel, the state patrol said.
    — Celia Frazier, Denver Post, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of jerk
Verb
  • The Royals plucked manager Matt Quatraro from the Rays organization in 2022.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Orioles plucked Jared Banner from the Cubs to be their new general manager under Mike Elias.
    — Josh Tolentino, Baltimore Sun, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of pluck
Verb
  • Finally, grab 32% off the Eufy E340 Security Video Doorbell with Chime, providing dual 2K cameras and color night vision.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026
  • James scored 18 points, grabbed two rebounds and was a minus-22 going up against Paul Reed, and the 76ers were left to hope his presence at center was nothing more than a cameo.
    — Dan Gelston, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of grab
Noun
  • Nothing about Capra is weirder, to be honest, than the way in which, from one film of his to the next, suicide tugs at our sleeve.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The tug was attacked in the Gulf of Oman, south of the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which has faced blockades and attacks in recent months.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of tug
Verb
  • Just then, Chee Meng’s fishing rod twitched, and the line began to run out.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of twitch
Verb
  • Key Takeaways These artificial channels are up to five times more selective for lithium, offering a simpler way to extract the critical battery material.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026
  • In lieu of sweet tea, a commercial sugar cane juicer extracts yellow-green juice.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of extract
Verb
  • Paladin reaches the high-rise apartment from the episode’s opening and finds the shotgun-wielding man dead, with wings carved into the floor below him and one of his eyes ripped out.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Witnesses said the speeding car jumped over a sidewalk, knocked down a chain-link fence and ripped out another wooden fence before going airborne into the house.
    — Tammy Mutasa, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of rip

Browse Nearby Words

yammers
yank
yanked
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yank. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All