as in slap
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
delivered a quick spank to the child's bottom for disobedience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spank
Noun
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The bearded blueliner has skated through the bumps and bruises that come with delivering checks and deflecting slap shots.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026 -
That’s how Larry Graham came up with slap bass.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On Wednesday, the Braves had been in an 0-for-14 slump with runners in scoring position until Baldwin smacked a two-out single to left with the bases loaded in the second.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
1 Apr. 2026
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Other incidents over the years have seen fans grab at Nikki Bella or actually smacking Alex Bliss on the backside as Nia Jax was carrying her over her shoulder from a previous segment.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
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The experimental jet, part of NASA’s Quesst mission, is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound while producing only a soft sonic thump instead of a disruptive boom.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Remember, as little as 6 inches of moving water can knock you off your feet.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
1 Apr. 2026
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About 2 minutes and 40 seconds into the fight, Grasso drilled Barber in the head with a left hook, knocking her out.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In a blow to the fledgling environmental movement, however, a report by Nixon’s science adviser, Lee DuBridge, called for more drilling, not less.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
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The blow came after the right-hander threw a four-seam fastball that nearly hit Trout’s face.—
Anthony Solorzano,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Catcher Patrick Bailey went for the pick instead of a block, and Winn’s splitter banged off the backstop.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
5 Apr. 2026
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Diehard fans banged bass drums, songs emanated from the supporters’ wall and a packed stadium of 7,211 buzzed all the way through stoppage time of a tense game.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Game notes Rangers bats struggled for most of Saturday’s game with only four hits in the game but rallied and had runners on the corners with two outs in the ninth inning and Evan Carter up to bat.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Apr. 2026
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When the pandemic hit, our local public school closed its computer lab, issued my kindergartener an iPad, and never looked back.—
Abby McCloskey,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Children too short to see the stage stood on their tip-toes to watch Kevin Reyes, the actor who played the part of Jesus, being whipped.—
Laura Turbay,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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The famously-shy sophomore obliged, several of her teammates whipping out their phones to record the big moment.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Spank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spank. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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