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PlainSpell

shank

/ˈʃeɪ̯ŋk/noun, verb, adjective

shank is spelled S-H-A-N-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shank means “The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shank is shanks.

How many letters and syllables are in shank?

Letters5: S-H-A-N-K
Syllables1
In writing1.2 times per million words; the 26,420th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is shank?

Shank appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce shank?

  • /ˈʃæŋk/
  • [ˈʃʰæŋk]
  • US /ˈʃeɪ̯ŋk/

Shank has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shank.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with shank

Also written: yank.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with shank?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shank from its last stressed vowel (/eɪŋk/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of shank

  • shanks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • shanking participle, present
  • shanked participle, past
  • shanker comparative
  • shankest superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does shank mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.

    Edward I of England was nicknamed Edward Longshanks.

  2. 2

    Meat from that part of an animal.

  3. 3

    colloquialA redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs.

  4. 4

    A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem.

  5. 5

    The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck.

  6. 6

    The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

    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.

verb

  1. 1

    archaicTo travel on foot.

  2. 2

    slangTo stab, especially with an improvised blade.

  3. 3

    slangTo remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants.

  4. 4

    To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.

  5. 5

    To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.

  6. 6

    To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off.

  7. 7

    To provide (a button) with a shank (loop forming an eye).

    The system is suitable for shanking all kind of sewn buttons (jackets, coats, blouses, shirts, trousers).

  8. 8

    To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it.

    I take those metal shanks, slide the backs of them in glue and make them lie down on the shoe-bottoms, […] Last week they ran a contest to see which shankers shanked fastest. I'm not embarrassed to say I beat them all.

adjective

  1. 1

    slangBad.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Shank in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchjambe (lower part of the leg), jarret (meat from that part of animal), tringle (straight, narrow part of an object)
GermanUnterschenkel (lower part of the leg), Beinstück, Hachse (meat from that part of animal)
Portuguesecanela (lower part of the leg)
Spanishpincho (an improvised stabbing weapon)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does shank come 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”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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