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• hank
  hank

  noun

  a skein, as of thread or yarn.
• Hank
  Hank

  noun

  a male given name, form of Henry.

hank

¹ American  

[hangk] / hæŋk /

noun

• hanks
  plural

1. a skein, as of thread or yarn.

2. a definite length of thread or yarn.

   A hank of cotton yarn measures 840 yards.

3. a coil, knot, or loop.

   a hank of hair.

4. Nautical. a ring, link, or shackle for securing the luff of a staysail or jib to its stay or the luff or head of a gaff sail to the mast or gaff.

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verb (used with object)

1. Nautical. to fasten (a sail) by means of hanks.

Hank ² American  

[hangk] / hæŋk /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Henry.

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hank British  

/ hæŋk /

noun

1. a loop, coil, or skein, as of rope, wool, or yarn

2. nautical a ringlike fitting that can be opened to admit a stay for attaching the luff of a sail

3. a unit of measurement of cloth, yarn, etc, such as a length of 840 yards (767 m) of cotton or 560 yards (512 m) of worsted yarn

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verb

1. (tr) nautical to attach (a sail) to a stay by hanks

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unhanked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hanks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hank

1175–1225; Middle English < Old Norse hǫnk hank, coil, skein, clasp; akin to hang

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hank Hank hanks

And then Ozzy grabbed a hank of his shoulder-length brown-and-pink hair and shouted:

From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2023

"We will continue our plans to celebrate the memory of hank Aaron during this season’s All-Star festivities," Manfredi said.

From Fox News ● Apr. 5, 2021

Then pivoting that side hank of hair back over his bald center lane and twisting and flipping it a bit so it jutted out in front just right.

From New York Times ● Oct. 23, 2018

By the time he’s done, the legendary Viennese doktor has been reduced to not much more than a rag, a bone, and a hank of hair.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2017

“So he says. But Private Williams—he is a big hank of sentiment.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

However, “traders know September is lousy” for the stock market, said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust, pointing to the seasonal weakness that tends to grip equities.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

“If you fail to make a plan, you’re planning to fail,” she remembers telling her dad, Hank Heystek, and stepmother, Marjorie.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

Alumni lounge in camping chairs around dozens of chatty college dads who look like Hank Schrader from Breaking Bad.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

When Hank answers the door in a ski mask, Aaron doesn’t balk.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

“Hank’s going to be back this afternoon. Hank, you tell her.”

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Either way, the onetime roommates and bandmates pioneered a discomfiting broken-doll aesthetic of smudged eyeliner, smeared lipstick and plastic barrettes clipped to hanks of bleached-out hair.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

Krymov is 67, with hanks of pale hair sweeping across a broad forehead.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 1, 2022

And then she let out a hearty laugh and struck a pose behind a Christmas tree to whose branches she had glued hanks of her hair.

From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2013

"This is just who I am!" she says, those wide eyes getting even wider, hanks of blond hair bobbing atop her head like leaves on a palm tree.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2011

Inspired by asymmetrical Indian coiffures, seventeenth-century London blades wore long, loose hanks of hair known as “lovelocks.”

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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