Definition of SHANK

shank

Meanings

Plural: shanks

Noun

  • a cut of meat (beef or veal or mutton or lamb) from the upper part of the leg
  • the part of the human leg between the knee and the ankle
  • cylinder forming a long narrow part of something
  • cylinder forming the part of a bolt between the thread and the head
  • cylinder forming the part of a bit by which it is held in the drill
  • the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide part of the sole
  • lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals
  • a poor golf stroke in which the heel of the club hits the ball
  • The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
  • Meat from that part of an animal.
  • A redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs.
  • A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem.
  • The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck.
  • The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point.
  • A protruding part of an object, by which it is or can be attached.
  • 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.
  • A poorly played golf shot in which the ball is struck by the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.
  • The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel.
  • A metal strip strengthening the waists of shoes. (Also shankpiece.)
  • An improvised stabbing weapon, orig. in prison, possibly from the strips of metal in shoes.
  • A loop forming an eye to a button.
  • The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph.
  • A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it.
  • The body of a type; between the shoulder and the foot.
  • Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.
  • The end or remainder, particularly of a period of time.
  • The main part or beginning of a period of time.

Verb

  • hit (a golf ball) with the heel of a club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction
  • To travel on foot.
  • To stab, especially with an improvised blade.
  • To remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants.
  • To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.
  • To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.
  • To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off.
  • To provide (a button) with a shank (loop forming an eye).
  • To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it.

Adj

  • Bad.

Origin / 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”).

Scrabble Score: 12

shank is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
shank is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
shank is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

shank is a valid Words With Friends word