<p><strong>Noun:</strong></p><ul><li>Anatomy: the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and the ankle; leg.</li><li>a corresponding or analogous part in certain animals.</li><li>the lower limb in humans, including both the leg and the thigh.</li><li>a cut of meat from the top part of the front foreshank or back hind shank leg of an animal.</li><li>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.</li><li>a straight, usually narrow, shaftlike part of various objects connecting two more important or complex parts, as the stem of a pipe.</li><li>Slang: shiv (def 2).</li><li>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.</li><li>the long, straight part of an anchor connecting the crown and the ring.</li><li>the straight part of a fishhook away from the bent part or prong.</li><li>Music: crook 1 (def 8).</li><li>Informal: the early or main part of a period of time: It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.</li><li>the latter part of a period of time: They didn't get started until the shank of the morning.</li><li>the narrow part of the sole of a shoe, lying beneath the instep.</li><li>shankpiece.</li><li>Printing: the body of a type, between the shoulder and the foot.</li><li>Golf: a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft.</li><li>the part of a phonograph stylus or needle on which the diamond or sapphire tip is mounted.</li><li>Jewelry: the part of a ring that surrounds the finger; hoop.</li></ul>