yank
verb (used with or without object)
to pull or remove abruptly and vigorously.
yank
1 American
[yangk]
/ jæŋk /
verb (used with or without object)
-
yanks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
yanked,
past participle, past
-
yanking
present participle
noun
-
yanks
plural
Yank
2
American
[yangk]
/ jæŋk /
noun
Informal.
Yank
1
British
/ jæŋk /
noun
-
a slang word for an American
-
informal short for Yankee
yank
2
British
/ jæŋk /
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
yanksimple
-
yankssimple
-
have yankedperfect
-
has yankedperfect
-
am yankingprogressive
-
are yankingprogressive
-
is yankingprogressive
-
have been yankingperfect progressive
-
has been yankingperfect progressive
Past
-
yankedsimple
-
had yankedperfect
-
was yankingprogressive
-
were yankingprogressive
-
had been yankingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of yank1
First recorded in 1810–20; origin uncertain
Origin of Yank2
An Americanism dating back to 1770–80; shortened form
Explanation
To yank is to pull or move suddenly and sharply. You might reach for a pan on the stove and then yank your hand away when you realize the handle is hot. Your little sister might yank at your arm to get your attention, while a bully might yank your hair just to be mean. In both cases, they're tugging abruptly, and you can call the pull itself a yank. Don't confuse this noun with the yank that serves as a slightly offensive nickname for Americans, or even more specifically, for New Englanders. Dutch settlers in then New Amsterdam first used this word to insult English colonists in Connecticut.
Vocabulary lists containing yank
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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.
See Examples For:
"As Ozzy would say, 'when you want to remember me, just yank up the music really loud, as loud as you can get it, and just head bang'."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
“It’s like when you’re driving and you miss a turn and you yank the wheel at the last minute,” Tomasi said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
Griffin, for his part, responded by threatening to yank Citadel from the Park Avenue development project.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
And each time, because he didn’t yank him, Dave Roberts should get the save.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2025
Molly tried to yank her arm away, but the girl held fast, and when the girl turned to look at Molly again, it was no longer the stranger, but Anat.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
If the Labour Party is up the creek without a paddle after last week, to revert to Yank lingo, it also finds itself in an anomalous position.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
I also asked Sue Bell Yank, Clockshop’s executive director, how the kite festival began.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026
Some groups recall the past, like trumpeter Yank Lawson’s New Orleans-style orchestra, while others, like Woody Herman, Stan Kenton and especially Boyd Raeburn, anticipate modern jazz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
The lanky Yank had driven the spud-loving critter off his land more times than he could count, and the $10 he’d invested in a peck of potato seeds was disappearing with every bite.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
“Doing something should help,” yelled the Yank from the back, enjoying the view ahead of him for different reasons than the rest of them.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Unfazed by the crashing waves, 72-year-old Wu Feng-chiao yanks fistfuls of brownish-purple seaweed she will process into jelly, one of the last women in Taiwan keeping the marine harvest tradition alive.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Fantastic as it is, “Working Girl’s” core flaw is that Tess can’t snag her seat at the conference table until she yanks Katharine out of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
What a setback for anyone who saw a childhood ruined by Bucky Dent, or yanks the plug when the jukebox cranks up Billy Joel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
"As soon as I get his harness out, he yanks, which he doesn't normally, but he gets quite excited because he knows he is going in the sidecar," he continued.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
She tugs open the zipper and yanks out my clothes, my games.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
The speed with which the poster was yanked down by Schmitt’s staffers told the entire story before the cameras.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
The move yanked higher a stock market top-heavy with Silicon Valley giants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
On the first morning at Headingley, Root yanked a wayward Jofra Archer from the attack after only two overs.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
It essentially yanked TPS overnight and refused to give a legitimate justification.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Professor Brown finished pulling the electrical sensors off my arms and legs, and I barely flinched as the sticky pads yanked out my arm and leg hair.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
At first it may seem like random grabbing and yanking, but look closer.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2026
Kim, handed a rare start with Dayot Upamecano out sick, was sent off in the 63rd minute, picking up a second yellow for yanking Raul Florucz's arm as the winger went on the attack.
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
It was the federal officer, she said, who grabbed the umbrella, yanking the fabric off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2025
Cops were forced to police the crowd’s behavior, yanking the worst offenders from the rope line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2025
Except her fingers get caught in my ponytail elastic and she falls to the floor, yanking me with her.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
