shank

UK: /ʃæŋk/ US: /ʃæŋk/ ,(shangk)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

shank /ʃæŋk/  n. [countable]

1. Anatomy
   • the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
   • Zoology the corresponding part in other vertebrates.
2. Food a cut of meat from the leg of an animal.
3. • Building a straight, narrow, shaftlike part of various objects usually connecting two more parts, such as the stem of a tobacco pipe.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

shank  (shangk), n. 

1. Anatomy the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and the ankle;
   leg.
2. Zoology a corresponding or analogous part in certain animals. See diag. under horse. 
3. Anatomy the lower limb in humans, including both the leg and the thigh.
4. Food a cut of meat from the top part of the front (foreshank) or back (hind shank) leg of an animal. See diag. under beef. 
5. Building a narrow part of various devices, as a tool or bolt, connecting the end by which the object is held or moved with the end that acts upon another object.
6. Building a straight, usually narrow, shaftlike part of various objects connecting two more important or complex parts, as the stem of a pipe.
7. Building a knob, small projection, or end of a device for attaching to another object, as a small knob on the back of a solid button, or the end of a drill for gripping in a shaft.
8. Building the long, straight part of an anchor connecting the crown and the ring. See diag. under anchor. 
9. the straight part of a fishhook away from the bent part or prong. See illus. under fishhook. 
10. Music and Dance crook¹ (def. 8).
11. Informal Terms
    • the early part of a period of time:
      It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.
    • the latter part of a period of time:
      They didn't get started until the shank of the morning.
12. Clothing the narrow part of the sole of a shoe, lying beneath the instep.
13. Clothing shankpiece.
14. Printing the body of a type, between the shoulder and the foot. See diag. under type. 
15. Sport [Golf.] a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft.
16. Sound Reproduction the part of a phonograph stylus or needle on which the diamond or sapphire tip is mounted.
17. Jewelry the part of a ring that surrounds the finger;
    hoop.
18. shank of the evening, the main or best part of the evening:
    Don't leave yet--it's just the shank of the evening.

v.t. 

19. Sport [Golf.] to hit (a golf ball) with the base of the shaft of a club just above the club head, causing the ball to go off sharply to the right.

v.i. 

20. Scottish Terms [Chiefly Scot.] to travel on foot. Cf. shanks' mare. 

• bef. 900; Middle English (noun, nominal); Old English sc(e)anca; cognate with Low German schanke leg, thigh; akin to German Schenkel thigh, Schinken ham

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

shank / ʃæŋk/ noun

1. the shin
2. the corresponding part of the leg in vertebrates other than humans
3. a cut of meat from the top part of an animal's shank
4. the main part of a tool, between the working part and the handle
5. the ring or stem on the back of some buttons
6. the stem or long narrow part of a key, anchor, hook, spoon handle, nail, pin, etc
7. the band of a ring as distinguished from the setting
8. the part of a shoe connecting the wide part of the sole with the heel
9. the body of a piece of type, between the shoulder and the foot

verb

1. (intransitive) (of fruits, roots, etc) to show disease symptoms, esp discoloration
2. (transitive) to mishit (the ball) with the foot of the shaft rather than the face of the club

Etymology: Old English scanca; related to Old Frisian schanke, Middle Low German schenke, Danish, Swedish skank leg