shank
- Anatomy. the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and the ankle; leg.
- a corresponding or analogous part in certain animals.
- the lower limb in humans, including both the leg and the thigh.
- a cut of meat from the top part of the front (foreshank) or back (hind shank) leg of an animal.
- a narrow part of various devices, as a tool or bolt, connecting the end by which the object is held or moved with the end that acts upon another object.
- a straight, usually narrow, shaftlike part of various objects connecting two more important or complex parts, as the stem of a pipe.
- a knob, small projection, or end of a device for attaching to another object, as a small knob on the back of a solid button, or the end of a drill for gripping in a shaft.
- the long, straight part of an anchor connecting the crown and the ring.
- the straight part of a fishhook away from the bent part or prong.
- Music. crook1(def 8).
- Informal.
- the early part of a period of time: It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.
- the latter part of a period of time: They didn't get started until the shank of the morning.
- the narrow part of the sole of a shoe, lying beneath the instep.
- shankpiece.
- Printing. the body of a type, between the shoulder and the foot.
- Golf. a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft.
- the part of a phonograph stylus or needle on which the diamond or sapphire tip is mounted.
- Jewelry. the part of a ring that surrounds the finger; hoop.
- Golf. to hit (a golf ball) with the base of the shaft of a club just above the club head, causing the ball to go off sharply to the right.
- Chiefly Scot. to travel on foot.Compare shanks' mare.
- shank of the evening, the main or best part of the evening: Don't leave yet—it's just the shank of the evening.
Origin of shank
Examples from the Web for shank
Contemporary Examples of shank
If she got caught with a shank, they would up her custody level.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’Michael Howard
January 6, 2015
Seager writes about being threatened by a patient with a shank carved out of an eyeglass stem.
You see, the victim can slip up behind you on any given day and stick a shank in your ribs—or pay someone else to do it.
Everyone complains that Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray shank shots but stubbornly stick to the same strategy.
The bloodthirsty Young Turks of Bohane bide their time, waiting in the shadows to shank and supplant their revelry-addled elders.
Must Reads: Kennedy, Sontag and Paris, ‘A Partial History of Lost Causes,’ ‘City of Bohane,’ ‘Flatscreen’Lauren Elkin, Mythili Rao, Drew Toal, Nicholas Mancusi
April 6, 2012
Historical Examples of shank
He struck the rivet such a blow that he snapped one shank of his spur short off.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
This plate is soldered to the shank of the screw-eye and the cleat is complete.
Boys' Book of Model BoatsRaymond Francis Yates
He's in the shank of his honeymoon as we stands chattin' yere.'
Faro Nell and Her FriendsAlfred Henry Lewis
He's had just about time to make the trip on Shank's mare by takin' short cuts.
Dwellers in the HillsMelville Davisson Post
Next to the blade on the end of which is the cutting edge, is the shank, Fig. 65.
Handwork in WoodWilliam Noyes
shank
- anatomy the shin
- the corresponding part of the leg in vertebrates other than man
- a cut of meat from the top part of an animal's shank
- the main part of a tool, between the working part and the handle
- the part of a bolt between the thread and the head
- the cylindrical part of a bit by which it is held in the drill
- the ring or stem on the back of some buttons
- the stem or long narrow part of a key, anchor, hook, spoon handle, nail, pin, etc
- the band of a ring as distinguished from the setting
- the part of a shoe connecting the wide part of the sole with the heel
- the metal or leather piece used for this
- printing the body of a piece of type, between the shoulder and the foot
- engineering a ladle used for molten metal
- music another word for crook (def. 6)
- (intr) (of fruits, roots, etc) to show disease symptoms, esp discoloration
- (tr) golf to mishit (the ball) with the foot of the shaft rather than the face of the club
Word Origin for shank
Word Origin and History for shank
Old English sceanca "leg, shank, shinbone," specifically, the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle, from Proto-Germanic *skankon- (cf. Middle Low German schenke, German schenkel "shank, leg"), perhaps literally "that which bends," from PIE root *skeng- "crooked" (cf. Old Norse skakkr "wry, distorted," Greek skazein "to limp"). Shank's mare "one's own legs as a means of transportation" is attested from 1774 (shanks-naig).
1927, in golf, "to strike (the ball) with the heel of the club," from shank (n.). Related: Shanked; shanking. Earlier as "to take to one's legs" (1774, Scottish); "to send off without ceremony" (1816).
shank
(shăngk)- The part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.