lank
Americanadjective
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(of plants) unduly long and slender.
lank grass; lank, leafless trees.
-
(of hair) straight and limp; without spring or curl.
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lean; gaunt; thin.
adjective
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long and limp
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thin or gaunt
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of lank
before 1000; Middle English lanc, Old English hlanc; akin to Old High German hlanca loin, side. Cf. flank
Explanation
Lank can describe grass that is long, hair that is limp, and people who are tall and thin. From the Old English hlanc (which is fun to say out loud), meaning loose and empty, lank is an adjective used to describe plant life which is long and slender, hair that hangs long and limp, and people who are long and slim. So you might hire a lank basketball player with lank hair to cut the grass when it’s lank. Or you might cut it yourself.
Vocabulary lists containing lank
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
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Let's Go Caroling, List 1
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
But the choice to give Kate aggressively lank, greasy, unkempt hair makes her a lot less watchable.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 22, 2023
Her hair is lank, unwashed, and she hides herself in oversized clothes.
From Salon • Oct. 17, 2022
As toxic algal blooms in the Klamath basin's main lank threaten the also-endangered suckerfish a month earlier than "normal," water is in short supply and dead juvenile chinook salmon are found every day.
From Fox News • Jul. 14, 2021
Their jeans were tight, their tops polka-dotted, their hair lank and stringy, and they were lining up for passage — not a yacht, but a ferry.
From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2018
The children sat opposite the king, staring at his milky face and weak chin and lank, wet-looking hair.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
