yanked; yanking; yanks
: to pull on something with a quick vigorous movement
1
: to pull or extract with a quick vigorous movement
2
: to remove in or as if in an abrupt manner
yanked the story from the evening edition
Examples of yank in a Sentence
Verb
He yanked the door shut.
She yanked on the dog's leash.
Noun (1)
had to give the shoe a good yank to get it off
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 11 July 2025
Rivera fired his Taser at Feliz, then got into the car on the passenger’s side and threatened to shoot Rivera as a physical struggle ensued, according to body camera footage, as another officer attempted to yank Feliz out of the vehicle.
—Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 11 July 2025
Erica Sloan, SELF, 20 June 2025
Four yanks later, voila: Clayton had pulled free his prize, leaving just a single strand of nylon stuck in the Alamodome rim.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yank
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Verb
Squirrels love to yank new plants out of the ground.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 11 July 2025
Rivera fired his Taser at Feliz, then got into the car on the passenger’s side and threatened to shoot Rivera as a physical struggle ensued, according to body camera footage, as another officer attempted to yank Feliz out of the vehicle.
—Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 11 July 2025
Noun
Running on a level surface (in supportive shoes—see above!) can serve as plenty a cardio workout without the extra yank on your plantar fascia.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 20 June 2025
Four yanks later, voila: Clayton had pulled free his prize, leaving just a single strand of nylon stuck in the Alamodome rim.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yank
Cite this Entry
“Yank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yank. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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