Definition of "hank" in English

noun

1. A coil or loop of something, especially twine, yarn, or rope.

   • 1681, E.R., The Experienced Farrier, London, p. 307, […] the best thing of all to stop bleeding at the Nose, is to take a Hank of Coventry-blew thread, and hang it cross a stick, and set one end of it on fire […] and let him receive the smoak up his Nostrils […]

2. (nautical) A ring or shackle that secures a staysail to its stay and allows the sail to glide smoothly up and down.

3. (Ulster) Doubt, difficulty.

4. (Ulster) Mess, tangle.

5. A rope or withe for fastening a gate.

6. (obsolete) Hold; influence.

7. (wrestling) A throw in which a wrestler turns his left side to his opponent, twines his left leg about his opponent's right leg from the inside, and throws him backward.

verb

1. (transitive) To form into hanks.

2. (transitive, UK, dialect) To fasten with a rope, as a gate.