What does "shank" mean?
The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
Shank
/ʃæŋk/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
- Grammar: shank is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: stem, anchor, ankle, ascender.
- Useful contrasts: boneless leg, boneless shank, defend.
- Usage evidence: Even the best tennis players shank their shots occasionally.
How to use "shank"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shank" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shank" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shank" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shank" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shank" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "stem" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shank", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
"Edward I of England was nicknamed Edward Longshanks."
- 2 a poor golf stroke in which the heel of the club hits the ball wordnet
- 3 Meat from that part of an animal.
- 4 lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals wordnet
- 5 A redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs. colloquial
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide part of the sole wordnet
- 7 A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem.
"The honest, rough piece of iron, so simple in appearance, has more parts than the human body has limbs: the ring, the stock, the crown, the flukes, the palms, the shank. All this, according to the journalist, is “cast” when a ship arriving at an anchorage is brought up."
- 8 cylinder forming the part of a bit by which it is held in the drill wordnet
- 9 The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck.
- 10 cylinder forming the part of a bolt between the thread and the head wordnet
- 11 The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point.
- 12 cylinder forming a long narrow part of something wordnet
- 13 A protruding part of an object, by which it is or can be attached.
"This twist drill has a reduced shank so that it can be used even in a small chuck."
- 14 the part of the human leg between the knee and the ankle wordnet
- 15 The metal part on a curb bit that falls below the mouthpiece, which length controls the severity of the leverage action of the bit, and to which the reins of the bridle are attached.
- 16 a cut of meat (beef or veal or mutton or lamb) from the upper part of the leg wordnet
- 17 A poorly played golf shot in which the ball is struck by the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.
"To a good golfer a shank is disgracefuller than being dead drunk or in jail."
- 18 The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel.
- 19 A metal strip strengthening the waists of shoes. (Also shankpiece.)
- 20 An improvised stabbing weapon, originally in prison, possibly from the strips of metal in shoes. slang
"LBC's tryna blackball me / And tryna blame your boy for knife crime (Like, what?) / I don't use a shank, I got money in the bank / Man, I'd rather do a drive-by"
- 21 A loop forming an eye to a button.
- 22 The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph.
- 23 A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it.
- 24 The body of a type; between the shoulder and the foot. dated
- 25 Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.
- 26 The end or remainder, particularly of a period of time.
- 27 The main part or beginning of a period of time.
"the shank of the morning"
Verb
- 1 To travel on foot. Ulster, archaic
- 2 hit (a golf ball) with the heel of a club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction wordnet
- 3 To stab, especially with an improvised blade. slang
- 4 To remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants. slang
- 5 To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft. transitive
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction. transitive
"Marouane Chamakh then spurned a great chance to kill the game off when he ran onto Andrey Arshavin's lofted through ball but shanked his shot horribly across the face of goal."
- 7 To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off. intransitive
"the gerrnens of these swelled, and on four out of the six I have now got fine pods, above 1% inch in length, with the seeds externally visible; whereas the flower stalks of the many other flowers all shanked off."
- 8 To provide (a button) with a shank (loop forming an eye). transitive
"The system is suitable for shanking all kind of sewn buttons (jackets, coats, blouses, shirts, trousers)."
- 9 To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it.
"I take those metal shanks, slide the backs of them in glue and make them lie down on the shoe-bottoms, […] Last week they ran a contest to see which shankers shanked fastest. I'm not embarrassed to say I beat them all."
Adjective
- 1 Bad. slang
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Even the best tennis players shank their shots occasionally."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shank"?
Common synonyms include: stem, anchor, ankle, ascender, back, band.
How do you use "shank" in a sentence?
Even the best tennis players shank their shots occasionally.
How do you pronounce "shank"?
Pronounced /ʃæŋk/.
Etymology
From Middle English schanke, from Old English sċanca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (compare West Frisian skonk, Dutch schenkel, Low German Schanke, German Schenkel (“shank, leg”), Danish skank, Norwegian skank, Swedish skänkel), from *skankaz (compare Old Norse skakkr (“wry, crooked”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (compare Middle Irish scingim (“I spring”), Ancient Greek σκάζω (skázō, “to limp”).