shanks

6 definitions • 9 examples

a long, thin, straight part of particular objects, especially one that connects the end of a device or tool that you hold to the end of it that moves or does something:

the shank of a screwdriver

the shank of a key/nail

the leg of a person or animal, especially the part below the knee:

You can buy ready-to-use beef shanks from your supermarket.

As he tottered across the stage I noticed how shrunken were his shanks, how feeble his voice.

an object, for example a sharp piece of metal, that is used as a knife:

He lost the sight in his right eye after an inmate pierced it with a shank.

Do I need to start sleeping with a shank under my pillow?

in golf, to hit a ball with the wrong part of the golf club so that it goes in a direction that you did not intend it to go in:

Needing par at 18 to force a playoff, he shanked his approach shot from the bunker.

in ball games, to kick or hit a ball in an awkward way so that it goes in a direction that you did not intend it to go in:

Unfortunately he shanked the ball wide in front of an open goal.

to attack someone with a shank:

She told police he had a fight with Ben during which he "shanked" him.