as in adjacent
having a border in common
flanking farms that share the same water source
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in envelopment
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in adjoining
to be adjacent to
the guards flank the center on a football team's offensive line
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flanking
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025
So at this time our forecast still holds but, as mentioned, with a low level of confidence for a grazing or flanking edge effect from the CME passages.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
Instead, Chelsea set up with Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto providing the width as wing-backs flanking Jorrel Hato, Trevoh Chalobah, and Wesley Fofana.
—Cerys Jones, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Seagrapes, the open-air restaurant flanking the main pool, impressed with a bright shrimp ceviche and a crave-worthy smashburger dressed in Rosado’s take on Mayochup, the island’s beloved condiment.
—Amber Kallor, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
During construction, two additional wings were added, flanking the original building to accommodate new guest rooms.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Jan. 2026
One clip in the carousel sees her two young sons flanking her on stage in mid-December in Buenos Aires.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
There is also an undated shot of Clinton and Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger flanking a woman whose face has been blacked out at an unspecified event.
—Tom Winter, NBC news, 20 Dec. 2025
Athletes will sit on the fields in a dedicated space flanking the protocol stage.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 16 Dec. 2025
The Magnify, Info, Q, Delete, and Play buttons are located lower down, flanking the flat rear command dial (used for EV compensation in most modes), with a central Set button.
—PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
Noun
But Earth appears to have been struck by a far flanking edge of the storm, meaning most of the magnetic cloud likely missed our planet, according to an update from the center.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025
So at this time our forecast still holds but, as mentioned, with a low level of confidence for a grazing or flanking edge effect from the CME passages.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
In some cases, miners carry coal in baskets up on wooden slats flanking the walls of the mines.
—Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
Instead, Chelsea set up with Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto providing the width as wing-backs flanking Jorrel Hato, Trevoh Chalobah, and Wesley Fofana.
—Cerys Jones, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Seagrapes, the open-air restaurant flanking the main pool, impressed with a bright shrimp ceviche and a crave-worthy smashburger dressed in Rosado’s take on Mayochup, the island’s beloved condiment.
—Amber Kallor, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
During construction, two additional wings were added, flanking the original building to accommodate new guest rooms.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Jan. 2026
One clip in the carousel sees her two young sons flanking her on stage in mid-December in Buenos Aires.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
There is also an undated shot of Clinton and Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger flanking a woman whose face has been blacked out at an unspecified event.
—Tom Winter, NBC news, 20 Dec. 2025
Athletes will sit on the fields in a dedicated space flanking the protocol stage.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 16 Dec. 2025
The Magnify, Info, Q, Delete, and Play buttons are located lower down, flanking the flat rear command dial (used for EV compensation in most modes), with a central Set button.
—PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flanking
Adjective
-
The federal agency is embarking on the Los Angeles Coastal Area Special Resource Study, which focuses on the coastline and adjacent areas along Santa Monica Bay from Will Rogers State Beach to Torrance Beach, including areas around Ballona Creek, as well as San Pedro.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Freestyle skiing adds dual moguls Freestyle skiing is bringing in dual moguls for women and men — basically the same sort of judging based on technique, flips and twists, plus speed, as the existing moguls event, but with two athletes going down the hill in adjacent lanes.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As for the rental’s neighbors, the regulations, if approved, also stipulate that a short-term rental’s owner send a letter by mail to adjoining property owners informing them that the residence has been approved as a short-term rental at least one week before the first rental in a calendar year.—
Molly Morrow,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
But the town adjoining the base, Delta Junction, is small (with a 2020 population of 918) and has only a handful of food stores and restaurants.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The union said its educators receive some of the lowest contributions to their healthcare costs among neighboring districts, leading many members to work elsewhere.—
Christopher Buchanan,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
You’ll also be treated to vistas of the neighboring Santa Cruz Mountains and, of course, San Francisco Bay.—
Cu Fleshman,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The footage starts by referencing the fiery climax of the 2019 original, in which Pitt's stuntman Cliff Booth and Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton battled followers of Charles Manson during a home invasion.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
-
In the first weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a strange pattern emerged in Western media coverage.—
Charles Edward Gehrke,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Since then, his parents have been living in the RV outside of their home, joining the dozens of other recreational vehicles now found across Altadena since the fire.—
Zach Boetto,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Andrew had lived at Royal Lodge since 2003, with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, joining him there five years later in 2008.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Opposition to these incursions catalyzed a more determined resistance than Democrats had shown before.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier that a response to an incursion by Mexican cartel drones had led to the airspace closure and that the threat had been neutralized.—
Seung Min Kim,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The stepbrother of a Florida teenager who died aboard a Carnival cruise ship appeared in federal court in Miami on Friday, as investigators continue probing the circumstances surrounding her death.—
Sophia Compton,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Rooted in contemporary rural Spain, to protect that grounding, Sánchez Arévalo is surrounding de la Torre with non-professional actors drawn from the Extremadura town of Fregenal de la Sierra after an extensive local casting process.—
Emiliano De Pablos,
Variety,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
An on-the-street interview series that doesn’t feel like an ambush or a stunt?—
Chris Richards,
Washington Post,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Alas, escaping through the forest in the snow, Elisabeta is killed in an ambush.—
Jocelyn Noveck,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flanking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flanking. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
