FLANKS Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

flanks 1 of 2

noun

Definition of flanks next

plural of flank

as in sides

a place, space, or direction away from or beyond a central point or line painted the name of the ship along its flank

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

flanks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of flank

as in adjoins

to be adjacent to the guards flank the center on a football team's offensive line

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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 flanks

Noun

And given the challenges from both left and right, our best hope is to strengthen a political center that brings together moderates who reject the ideologues on their flanks. —

Joshua M. Davidson, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026 By early June, ash and lava were escaping Pinatubo’s flanks, and an evacuation was ordered, just a few days before the cataclysmic hammer fell. —

Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026 Thanks to their extensive railway systems, troops could be quickly deployed to one fighting position or another, preventing the enemy from marching around their flanks. —

Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 1 May 2026 Incidentally, that goal also came when Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue, wingers on opposite flanks on paper, teamed up down the PSG left. —

Michael Cox, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2026 Air tankers and helicopters have been assisting crews to create lines along the flanks of the fire. —

Christa Swanson, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026 Whittaker scaled Mount Rainier more than 100 times but did not take its familiar flanks for granted. —

Gene Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026 The man was treated for numerous stab wounds to his left and right flanks, according to Boisvert. —

Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 7 Apr. 2026 Up front, this team has serious depth, with Igor Chernyshov and Will Smith rapidly morphing into elite flanks for Celebrini. —

Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2026

Verb

The park flanks a tiny stretch of Table Rock Lake, a serpentine reservoir with more than 745 miles of shoreline. —

Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 17 Apr. 2026 This short out-and-back route is the perfect recovery run, with relatively flat terrain that flanks the river. —

Kristine Thomason, Outside, 9 Mar. 2026 But Hawley flanks the familiar creature from the movies with a variety of new monsters that get unleashed in the Maginot crash. —

Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flanks

Noun

At the most recent debate, hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52 on May 6, the seven candidates again clashed over housing and immigration, while Becerra and Steyer faced fierce attacks from both sides of the political spectrum, The Los Angeles Times reported.

— James Ward, USA Today, 15 May 2026
These are two elite teams led by masterminds on opposite sides of the ball in Kyle Shanahan and Mike Macdonald.

— Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 15 May 2026