flank

American  

[flangk] / flæŋk /

noun

• flanks
  plural

1. the side of an animal or a person between the ribs and hip.

2. the thin piece of flesh constituting this part.

3. a slice of meat from the flank of an animal.

4. the side of anything, as of a building.

5. Military, Navy. the extreme right or left side of an army or fleet, or a subdivision of an army or fleet.

6. Fortification.

   1. the right or left side of a work or fortification.

   2. the part of a bastion that extends from the curtain to the face and protects the curtain and the opposite face.

7. Machinery. (on a screw thread or the like) either of the two vertical inclined surfaces between the crest and the root.

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verb (used with object)

• flanks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flanked,
  past participle,  past
• flanking
  present participle

1. to stand or be placed or posted at the flank or side of.

   Synonyms:

   border, skirt, edge, line

2. to defend or guard at the flank.

3. Military. to menace or attack the flank of.

4. to pass around or turn the flank of.

verb (used without object)

• flanks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flanked,
  past participle,  past
• flanking
  present participle

1. to occupy a position at the flank or side.

2. to present the flank or side.

flank British  

/ flæŋk /

noun

1. the side of a man or animal between the ribs and the hip

2. (loosely) the outer part of the human thigh

3. a cut of beef from the flank

4. the side of anything, such as a mountain or building

5. the side of a naval or military formation

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verb

1. to be located at the side of (an object, building, etc)

2. military to position or guard on or beside the flank of (a formation, etc)

3. military to move past or go round (a flank)

Usage

What is a basic definition of flank? A flank is space between the lowest rib and hip of an animal or person. To flank something means to stand at the side of something. In the military, a flank is a left or right side of an army or fleet of ships. Flank has several other senses as a noun and a verb. The space on your torso between your lowest rib and your hip is called your flank. Animals like cows and horses also have sides referred to as flanks. If a slice of meat comes from this part of an animal’s body, it is a flank cut or flank steak.

• Used in a sentence: The tree branch poked me in my left flank. 

More generally, a flank is the side of anything.

• Used in a sentence: The ball bounced off the left flank of the house. 

In this sense, flank is used to mean to stand or be located at the side of something. A person or thing that flanks something is called a flanker.

• Used in a sentence: Orange trees flanked both sides of the river.

Flank is used in a military sense to refer to the sides of an army. For example, if an army was lined up in rows of soldiers, the soldiers on either end of the rows would make up the army’s flank. An army’s flank is described with directional terms, such as left or right, or compass directions, that is, north, south, east, or west.

• Used in a sentence: The left flank collapsed under the intense arrow fire. 

Flank is used in a similar sense as a verb to mean to attack or harass an army’s flank.

• Used in a sentence: The Roman soldiers charged out of the woods and managed to flank the Greek army. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unflank
  verb (used with object)
• well-flanked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• flanks
  plural

Participles

• flanking
  present
• flanked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• flank
  simple
• flanks
  simple
• have flanked
  perfect
• has flanked
  perfect
• am flanking
  progressive
• are flanking
  progressive
• is flanking
  progressive
• have been flanking
  perfect progressive
• has been flanking
  perfect progressive

Past

• flanked
  simple
• had flanked
  perfect
• was flanking
  progressive
• were flanking
  progressive
• had been flanking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will flank
  simple
• will have flanked
  perfect
• will be flanking
  progressive
• will have been flanking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of flank

before 1100; Middle English; late Old English flanc < Old French < Frankish; compare Old High German hlanca loin

Explanation

A flank is the side of something, whether of beef or a military formation. Although flank is specifically used to talk about a cut of meat, or the right or left side of a military formation, we also use it in those same senses for other objects or even metaphorically. You might, for example, refer to the more conservative flank of a political party. This word can also be used as a verb. If you see someone walking down the street with bodyguards on either side, she's flanked by guards.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flank flanks flanked flanking

The three players on the flank were tasked with creating chances which they did via good movement to lose markers.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Hall holds the width on the flank with Gordon in-field.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The commercial sector, including the iconic Strip lighted up by flashing neon signs that flank air-conditioned clubs and casinos, accounts for about two-fifths of the city’s total electricity demand, according to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

In recent months, states across NATO's eastern flank have faced a raft of hostile actions from Moscow and Minsk ranging from drone incursions to cyberattacks.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

The helmet hit Sigurd’s horse on the flank, and the charger whinnied, spooked.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

The gates blocking it, and the security checkpoints along its flanks, will dramatically limit the public’s desire to enter, and change the tenor and experience of a space that should feel porous and inclusive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui have both switched flanks in the past, while Baleba, a left-footed player, has played at full-back for Brighton previously.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

It warned of hot volcanic debris flows down Fuego's slopes, with communities on the western and southern flanks at the greatest risk.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

The results show that broad elevated ridges, called rift flanks, develop along the sides of rift valleys when the rifts are geologically young.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

Only with difficulty did Adaon’s tall steed enter; and Islimach rolled her eyes frantically as the thorns tore at her flanks.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander

Kiesewetter agreed, saying the proposed legislation should be flanked by binding rules governing the private sector activities of former senior civil servants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Herzog impresses this notion from the very beginning: A dream shared by Joan and Jean, in which the sisters stand in a corridor flanked by caged birds.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

Plans for the arch from earlier this year feature a golden, winged Lady Liberty on the top, flanked by two gold eagles.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

In the picture, Mahmoud sits on the floor flanked by the soldiers, looking diminutive, younger than his 22 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Within minutes, concentration camp survivors flanked the boys.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

“We executed a flanking operation to gain control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait,” said Col.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Kinjo says that reefs flanking his seaside farm consist entirely of corals he cultivated, with their natural peers "no longer able to keep up with a tremendous increase in stress" in the anthropogenically polluted ocean.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

UK government figures from 2024 say an average of 81,578 vehicles passed eastbound every day between the two junctions flanking the Brynglas Tunnels.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

The activity in question will come from the sculpture being directly alongside the building’s main cafe, with outdoor tables flanking the fountain’s edge, and just a stone’s throw from the W.M.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026

Anastasia had dropped the sapling and was staring at us, the remaining bonobos — probably the aggressive Pink Ladies Mama Brunelle had told me about — again flanking her.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer