yank

Attested since 1822; from Scots yank. Unknown origin.

• (without æ-raising) IPA^(key): /ˈjæŋk/, [ˈjæŋk]

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

• (æ-raising)
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈjeɪ̯ŋk/, [ˈjeɪ̯ŋk]; /ˈjɛ̃ŋk/, [ˈjɛ̃ŋk]
• Rhymes: -æŋk
• Hyphenation: yank

yank (plural yanks)

1. A sudden, vigorous pull (sometimes defined as mass times jerk, or rate of change of force).

   Synonyms: jerk, tug

   He unjammed the rope with a short yank.

2. (slang) An act of masturbation.

   Synonyms: fap, wank; see also Thesaurus:masturbation

   • 2012, Bonnie Dee, Summer Devon, Serious Play, page 81:

     He rested his hand on his bare chest, an innocent enough spot, but soon it drifted of its own accord down his stomach to slide beneath the waistband of his briefs. Fine. A quick yank would relieve the sexual tension that simmered in him.

4. (slang, MLE) Alternative form of shank (“stabbing weapon”).
   • 2024 September 7, “Movie Star” (0:57 from the start), #ALG Grimzo x Alsz Gambino (lyrics):

     Tell my young bad, she can vouch for me
     I was only thirteen with a yank on me

yank (third-person singular simple present yanks, present participle yanking, simple past and past participle yanked)

1. (transitive) To pull (something) with a quick, strong action.

   Synonyms: jerk, tug

   • 2015 December, Elizabeth Royte, “Vultures Are Revolting. Here’s Why We Need to Save Them.”, in National Geographic‎^[1], archived from the original on 13 December 2015:

     Now a white-backed rams its head down the wildebeest’s throat and yanks out an eight-inch length of trachea, ribbed like a vacuum hose.

   • 2016 October, Scott Dadich, quoting Barack Obama, “Barack Obama Talks AI, Robo Cars, and the Future of the World”, in Wired‎^[2], →ISSN:

     [Regarding risks of AI] And you just have to have somebody close to the power cord. [Laughs.]^[sic] Right when you see it about to happen, you gotta yank that electricity out of the wall, man.

2. (transitive, informal) To remove; to recall or revoke.

   Synonym: pull

   They yanked the product as soon as they learned it was unsafe.

   The cops yanked my driver's license.

3. (ambitransitive, slang) To masturbate.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:masturbate

   • 1978, Larry Kramer, Faggots, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, pages 68–69:

     In the dark protection of the auditorium and his Baltimore cape, with two coiled females only inches beneath his feet, completely in his power and ignorant of the invisible force that held them captive, only this shadow knew, the True Dildough, with great pleasure and tremendous gutsy motions, yanked his full-grown penis to a gigantically pleasurable orgasm.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “yank”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

yank (plural yanks)

1. (often derogatory) Alternative letter-case form of Yank (“Yankee”).

Unknown; likely imitative. Compare whang (“a blow”).

yank (plural yanks)

1. a sudden tug, a jerk, a yank
2. a blow, a slap
   • 1833, James Hogg, The Brownie of Bodsbeck‎^[3], page 51:

     I took up my neive an’ gae him a yank on the haffat till I gart his bit brass cap rattle against the wa’.

     I raised my fist and gave him a blow on the temple that made his little brass cap rattle against the wall.

yank (third-person singular simple present yanks, present participle yankin, simple past and past participle yankt)

1. to jerk, to pull suddenly
2. to move quickly or in a lively manner