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:
Griffin, for his part, responded by threatening to yank Citadel from the Park Avenue development project.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
The team still needs to haul the balloon to the ground and yank open the release vents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
And each time, because he didn’t yank him, Dave Roberts should get the save.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2025
Before he can yank the branch from his truck’s wheel well, the adults are on top of him.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2025
You could yank on that rope from now till New Year’s and not get a tinkle.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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
She said her mother had come to London to celebrate the end of World War I and met and married a Yank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 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
At the other end of the scale, fans can acquire a mandolin, previously owned by blues legend Yank Rachell, for an estimated £300 to £500.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2023
“I’m Emcee Worm, and this is the Sturgeon Surgeon, aka Emcee Dirty Dylan, aka Emcee Dirty Bizniss, Cairnholm’s number one beat-boxer. Wanna show this Yank how we do, Dirty D?”
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
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
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
Daniel’s expressive performance welcomes the audience to flinch as she yanks between baseline honesty and the overwrought pep forcing Nella to chirp whenever Vera flings a task at her.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2023
She gives you a hard look and then walks back behind the register, where she yanks a gigantic purse onto the counter and starts feeling around inside.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
Then I remembered that the ceiling fan has one speed at which it rattles faintly but insistently, so I got out of bed, yanked the chain and sent the blades spinning faster.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
It essentially yanked TPS overnight and refused to give a legitimate justification.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
If you’re a Dodgers fan, you know the rest of his baseball story: In his major league debut, Stripling was five outs from a no-hitter when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts yanked him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026
“It feels like … a lifeline is being yanked out from underneath a lot of people.”
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
Clara reached into his hand and yanked the lighter out.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
He left the oral arguments over birthright citizenship early, as if he were Charlie Brown and Chief Justice John Roberts were Lucy yanking the football away from him at the last second.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
Investors are yanking money out of the opaque funds, lifting withdrawals to record highs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 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
I could tell that Aunt Kitty’s well of patience was not particularly deep, so I quickly began fastening the tiny front hooks before she could start yanking and tying the back laces.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
