Spanker

//ˈspæŋkɚ// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone who spanks.
  2. 2
    a fore-and-aft sail set on the aftermost lower mast (usually the mizzenmast) of a vessel wordnet
  3. 3
    An instrument used to give someone a spanking or spank, such as a paddle.
  4. 4
    a hitter who slaps (usually another person) with an open hand wordnet
  5. 5
    A fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel.

    "beyond the broad white wing of the spanker sail"

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    A musician who plays his instrument well. dated
  2. 7
    A small coin. UK, dialectal, obsolete

    "Egad, Jack, I am glad to see you, for I want a few spankers."

  3. 8
    One who takes long, quick strides in walking. dated
  4. 9
    A swift horse. dated
  5. 10
    Something very large, or larger than usual; a whopper. dated, slang
  6. 11
    Something splendid; a fine example of its kind. dated, slang

    "I like the new vehicle. A real spanker. Not a mark on it. Particularly as regards the bodywork."

Synonyms

All synonyms
blooperblooperjibsailslapperslapper

Example

More examples

"Spanker? I don't even know her!"

Etymology

From spank + -er.

Related phrases

plank spankerfore and aft

More for "spanker"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.