Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To pull with a quick, strong movement; jerk.
- intransitive verb Informal To extract or remove abruptly.
- intransitive verb To pull on something suddenly.
- noun A sudden vigorous pull; a jerk.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A quick, sharp stroke; a buffet.
- noun A jerk or twitch.
- noun plural Leggings or long gaiters worn in England by agricultural laborers.
- To be in active motion; move or work quickly; bustle.
- To talk fast or constantly; scold; nag.
- To move, carry, bring, take, etc., with a sudden jerk or jerking motion: usually with along, over, or out: as, to
yank a fish out of the water. - noun A Yankee.
- noun [The word acquired during the war of the rebellion wide currency as a nickname or contemptuous epithet among the Confederates for a Union soldier, the Confederates themselves being in like spirit dubbed Johnnies or Rebs by the Union soldiers.]
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Colloq. U. S. A jerk or twitch.
- noun Slang An abbreviation of
Yankee . - transitive verb Colloq. U. S. To twitch; to jerk.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
sudden ,vigorous pull (sometimes defined as mass timesjerk , or rate of change offorce ). - verb transitive To pull something with a
quick ,strong action . - verb transitive to
remove fromcirculation
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb pull, or move with a sudden movement
- noun an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War)
- noun an American (especially to non-Americans)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It was one of the harder commands for me to learn because the word yank didn't say anything to me.
LXer Linux News j00p34 2009
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It was one of the harder commands for me to learn because the word yank didn't say anything to me.
LXer Linux News 2009
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I hate the term "yank" - it is no longer appropriate if it ever was.
melt down 777 Valleys Mam 2008
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Stopping the milk as she did was a good call, to coin a yank phrase, as it was a waste of money, because the older kids weren't drinking it.
BBC News - Home 2012
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Yeah, they decided to "yank" the ad, but intentionally left the orders dangling while "processing" paperwork.
Ad Attacking Romney Ran In Iowa After Huckabee Said He Was Yanking It 2009
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I knew an American in the UK, born in the USA, but brought up in the UK - is he a 'yank'.
melt down 777 Valleys Mam 2008
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I wonder what brainstorming went into the choice of the word "yank," which seems to be roundly favored by those who want to pressure ABC to withdraw its docu-drama "Path to 9/11."
Archive 2006-09-01 Ann Althouse 2006
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He is the captain of the small troop of winter resident birds, and where his "yank", "yank", is heard there are the other birds also.
Ohio Arbor Day 1913: Arbor and Bird Day Manual Issued for the Benefit of the Schools of our State Various
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Active young senior male "yank" coming to Mexico in September, hoping to find a stimulating place for retirment living.
Can U help me find "alternative intentional community" living in Mexico? 1919
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: Active young senior male "yank" coming to Mexico in September, hoping to find a stimulating place for retirment living.
Can U help me find "alternative intentional community" living in Mexico? 1919
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