spank
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
-
spanks
plural
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of spank1
First recorded in 1720–30; imitative
Origin of spank2
First recorded in 1800–10; back formation from spanking
Explanation
To spank is to hit someone with an open palm, especially as punishment. You should never spank your dog, even when she chews your favorite shoes; a firm "No!" is a strong enough correction. To spank is to slap, most often on the rear end. In some places, it's perfectly acceptable for a parent to spank their child for misbehaving, but spanking is increasingly seen as potentially harmful—and in some countries, it's even illegal. Spank is an imitative word, which means it was coined as an imitation of the sound of a spank on skin.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But quality with the corner for Casemiro's goal and then that free-kick - you get in team of the week if you spank one of them in the top bin.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
“Are you going to spank me for lying — not for dropping out?” thinks David in adulthood, after belatedly informing his parents that he’s ditched the master’s program in Harvard’s Department of Soviet Studies.
From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2022
Putin responded that “it’s better not to spank children and not to cite traditions,” but agreed that “unceremonious interference with the family is unacceptable,” and promised to review the law.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2021
Do I involve myself in their parenting and tell them they cannot spank their child in my house?
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2019
They don’t spank us or rap us on the knuckles with rulers or wash our mouths out with soap, all of that stuff you read about in old-fashioned books.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
Monfils raises break point and absolutely spanks a forehand winner from the middle of the baseline into the forehand corner!
From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2022
Perhaps it’s because it’s by and about women that it spanks the whole bunch of “prestigious” puzzle TV shows, by never letting the puzzle swamp its characters or their psychologies.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2019
For another thing, the movie effectively spanks snobs who claim that people aren’t into books anymore.
From Washington Post ● May 21, 2018
McCullum drives another mighty six over long-off, and then spanks an attempted yorker over extra cover for four more.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 5, 2013
It is said that the grizzly bear, who is a very strict mother, often spanks her cubs when she herself has done something foolish.
From The Book of Business Etiquette by Nella Henney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
