shank

[shangk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shank ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

Chiefly Scot. to travel on foot.Compare shanks' mare.

RELATED WORDS

shin, meat, leg, stem, stalk, crus

Idioms

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

before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English sc(e)anca; cognate with Low German schanke leg, thigh; akin to German Schenkel thigh, Schinken ham

Related formsun·shanked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane
Caitlin Dickson
September 15, 2014
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.
How Will Chelsea Manning Be Treated in Prison?
Mansfield Frazier
August 22, 2013
Everyone complains that Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray shank shots but stubbornly stick to the same strategy.
How to Play a Tennis Monster
Sujay Kumar
September 10, 2012
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 U
B. M. Bower
This plate is soldered to the shank of the screw-eye and the cleat is complete.
Boys' Book of Model Boats
Raymond Francis Yates
He's in the shank of his honeymoon as we stands chattin' yere.'
Faro Nell and Her Friends
Alfred Henry Lewis
He's had just about time to make the trip on Shank's mare by takin' short cuts.
Dwellers in the Hills
Melville Davisson Post
Next to the blade on the end of which is the cutting edge, is the shank, Fig. 65.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes

British Dictionary definitions for shank

shank

noun

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)

verb

(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

Old English scanca; related to Old Frisian schanke, Middle Low German schenke, Danish, Swedish skank leg

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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).

Medicine definitions for shank

shank

[shăngk]

n.

The part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.