# flanker

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈflæŋkə/ · frequency rank #42,137

## Definitions
1. A player who plays in the back row of the scrum.
2. A wide receiver who lines up behind the line of scrimmage.
3. A fortification or soldier projecting so as to defend another work or to command the flank of an assailing body.
4. One of a pair of large upright monoliths erected on either end of the recumbent, in recumbent stone circles of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and the counties of Cork and Kerry in south-west of Ireland.
5. A usually lower-end brand or product introduced in order to target competitors and protect a company's main market share.
6. Newly created perfume that shares some attributes of an already existing perfume.

## Etymology
From flank + -er. The verb is from the noun (sense 3).

## Easily confused with
- **flatter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanker-vs-flatter)
- **flannel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanker-vs-flannel)
- **flicker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanker-vs-flicker)
- **Franken** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanker-vs-franken)
- **Flannery** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanker-vs-flannery)
- **flank** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flank-vs-flanker)
- **flake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flake-vs-flanker)
- **faker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/faker-vs-flanker)
- **flakes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flakes-vs-flanker)
- **flange** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flange-vs-flanker)
- **flaked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flaked-vs-flanker)
- **flanked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanked-vs-flanker)
- **Flanders** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanders-vs-flanker)

## Common misspellings (11)
`falnker`, `fflanker`, `flakner`, `flanekr`, `flankerr`, `flankker`, `flankre`, `flannker`, `fllanker`, `flnaker`, `lfanker`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/flanker