shank.
The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
Meaning & usage
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.
This twist drill has a reduced shank so that it can be used even in a small chuck.
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, originally 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.
the shank of the morning
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Middle English sceonke, schank, schanke, shanke, schonke, sconke, sschanke, from Old English sċanca, sċeanca, sċeonca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (“shank; thigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (“to hobble, limp; to tilt”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian skonk (“leg”), Dutch schenkel (“shank”), German and Luxembourgish Schenkel (“thigh”), Danish skank (“shank; leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk skank, skonk (“thigh; foot”), Swedish skank, skånk (“leg”); also Cornish kamm (“pace, step”), Irish céim (“pace, step”), Manx keim (“degree, pace, stage, step”), Scottish Gaelic ceum (“pace, step”), Welsh cam (“pace, step”), Greek σκάω (skáo), σκάζω (skázo, “to burst, explode”), Bulgarian and Macedonian шега́ (šegá, “jest, joke; prank”).
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.
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Middle English sceonke, schank, schanke, shanke, schonke, sconke, sschanke, from Old English sċanca, sċeanca, sċeonca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (“shank; thigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (“to hobble, limp; to tilt”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian skonk (“leg”), Dutch schenkel (“shank”), German and Luxembourgish Schenkel (“thigh”), Danish skank (“shank; leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk skank, skonk (“thigh; foot”), Swedish skank, skånk (“leg”); also Cornish kamm (“pace, step”), Irish céim (“pace, step”), Manx keim (“degree, pace, stage, step”), Scottish Gaelic ceum (“pace, step”), Welsh cam (“pace, step”), Greek σκάω (skáo), σκάζω (skázo, “to burst, explode”), Bulgarian and Macedonian шега́ (šegá, “jest, joke; prank”).
Bad.
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Middle English sceonke, schank, schanke, shanke, schonke, sconke, sschanke, from Old English sċanca, sċeanca, sċeonca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (“shank; thigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (“to hobble, limp; to tilt”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian skonk (“leg”), Dutch schenkel (“shank”), German and Luxembourgish Schenkel (“thigh”), Danish skank (“shank; leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk skank, skonk (“thigh; foot”), Swedish skank, skånk (“leg”); also Cornish kamm (“pace, step”), Irish céim (“pace, step”), Manx keim (“degree, pace, stage, step”), Scottish Gaelic ceum (“pace, step”), Welsh cam (“pace, step”), Greek σκάω (skáo), σκάζω (skázo, “to burst, explode”), Bulgarian and Macedonian шега́ (šegá, “jest, joke; prank”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.