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Leg vs. Shank — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Leg and Shank

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Definitions

Leg

A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts".

Shank

A person's leg, especially the part from the knee to the ankle
The old man's thin, bony shanks showed through his trousers

Leg

Each of the limbs on which a person or animal walks and stands
He was off as fast as his legs would carry him
Adams broke his leg
A leg injury

Shank

A long, narrow part of a tool connecting the handle to the operational end
Gouges vary in the amount of curve or sweep on the cutting edge and the form of the shank

Leg

Each of the supports of a chair, table, or other structure
The house was set on legs
Table legs
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Shank

A part or appendage by which something is attached to something else, especially a wire loop attached to the back of a button.

Leg

A section or stage of a journey or process
The return leg of his journey

Shank

The narrow middle of the sole of a shoe
A rigid leather boot with a full shank

Leg

A branch of a forked object.

Shank

A makeshift knife fashioned from a sharp item such as broken glass or a razor
He used a shank to threaten a guard and steal his uniform
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Leg

The half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball
He played a lucky stroke to leg

Shank

An act of striking the ball with the heel of the club
He hit a shank with his tee shot and took double bogey

Leg

A deferential gesture made by drawing back one leg and bending it while keeping the front leg straight.

Shank

Strike (the ball) with the heel of the club
I shanked a shot and hit a person on a shoulder

Leg

Travel by foot; walk
I am part of a team legging it around London

Shank

Slash or stab (someone), especially with a makeshift knife
I got shanked with a broken bottle
My friend pulled a knife and shanked him

Leg

Propel (a boat) through a tunnel on a canal by pushing with one's legs against the tunnel roof or sides
A little boy was lying on his back, legging the boat along

Shank

The part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

Leg

One of the limbs or appendages that an animal uses for locomotion or support.

Shank

A corresponding part in other vertebrates.

Leg

One of the lower or hind limbs in humans and other primates.

Shank

The whole leg of a human.

Leg

The part of the limb between the knee and foot in vertebrates.

Shank

A leg or leglike part.

Leg

The back part of the hindquarter of a meat animal.

Shank

A cut of meat from the leg of a steer, calf, sheep, or lamb.

Leg

A supporting part resembling a leg in shape or function.

Shank

The long narrow part of a nail or pin.

Leg

One of the branches of a forked or jointed object.

Shank

A stem, stalk, or similar part.

Leg

The part of a garment, especially of a pair of pants, that covers the leg.

Shank

(Nautical) The stem of an anchor.

Leg

(Mathematics) Either side of a right triangle that is not the hypotenuse.

Shank

The long shaft of a fishhook.

Leg

(Nautical) The distance traveled by a sailing vessel on a single tack.

Shank

The part of a tobacco pipe between the bowl and stem.

Leg

The part of an air route or a flight pattern that is between two successive stops, positions, or changes in direction.

Shank

The shaft of a key.

Leg

One of several contests that must be successfully completed in order to determine the winner of a competition.

Shank

The narrow section of the handle of a spoon.

Leg

(Sports) One stretch of a relay race.

Shank

(Printing) The section of a body of type between the shoulder and the foot.

Leg

Legs The narrow streams of swirled wine or spirits that run slowly down along the inside of a glass, often believed to indicate that the liquid is full-bodied.

Shank

The narrow part of the sole of a shoe under the instep.

Leg

Legs(Slang) The ability to last or sustain success, especially by appealing to an audience
A blockbuster movie that has legs.

Shank

A piece of material, such as metal, that is used to reinforce or shape this part of a shoe.

Leg

To go on foot; walk or run. Often used with the indefinite it
Because we missed the bus, we had to leg it across town.

Shank

A projection, such as a ring, on the back of a button by which it is sewn to cloth.

Leg

A limb or appendage that an animal uses for support or locomotion on land.
Insects have six legs.

Shank

See tang1.

Leg

In humans, the lower limb extending from the groin to the ankle.
Dan won't be able to come to the party, since he broke his leg last week and is now on crutches.

Shank

The part of a tool, such as a drill, that connects the functioning head to the handle.

Leg

(anatomy) The portion of the lower limb of a human that extends from the knee to the ankle.

Shank

The latter or remaining part, especially of a period of time.

Leg

A part of garment, such as a pair of trousers/pants, that covers a leg.
The left leg of these jeans has a tear.

Shank

The early or primary part of a period of time
The shank of the evening.

Leg

A rod-like protrusion from an inanimate object, such as a piece of furniture, supporting it from underneath.
The legs of a chair or table

Shank

(Slang) A knife or other sharp, pointed implement, especially one that has been fashioned from something else; a shiv.

Leg

(figurative) Something that supports.
This observation is an important leg of my argument.

Shank

To hit (a golf ball) with the heel of the club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction.

Leg

A stage of a journey, race etc.
After six days, we're finally in the last leg of our cross-country trip.

Shank

(Slang) To stab (a person) with a sharp, pointed implement.

Leg

(nautical) A distance that a sailing vessel does without changing the sails from one side to the other.

Shank

The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.

Leg

(nautical) One side of a multiple-sided (often triangular) course in a sailing race.

Shank

Meat from that part of an animal.

Leg

(sports) A single game or match played in a tournament or other sporting contest.

Shank

A redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs.

Leg

(geometry) One of the two sides of a right triangle that is not the hypotenuse.

Shank

A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem.

Leg

(geometry) One of the branches of a hyperbola or other curve which extend outward indefinitely.

Shank

The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck.

Leg

The ability of something to persist or succeed over a long period of time.
This proposal has no legs. Almost everyone opposes it.

Shank

The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point.

Leg

A disreputable sporting character; a blackleg.

Shank

A protruding part of an object, by which it is or can be attached.

Leg

An extension of a steam boiler downward, in the form of a narrow space between vertical plates, sometimes nearly surrounding the furnace and ash pit, and serving to support the boiler; called also water leg.

Shank

The metal part on a curb bit that falls below the mouthpiece, which length controls the severity of the leverage action of the bit, and to which the reins of the bridle are attached.

Leg

In a grain elevator, the case containing the lower part of the belt which carries the buckets.

Shank

(golf) A poorly played golf shot in which the ball is struck by the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.

Leg

Denotes the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.
Ponsonby-Smythe hit a thumping drive through the leg fielders.

Shank

(slang) An improvised stabbing weapon.

Leg

(telephony) A branch or lateral circuit connecting an instrument with the main line.

Shank

A loop forming an eye to a button.

Leg

(electrical) A branch circuit; one phase of a polyphase system.

Shank

(architecture) The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph.

Leg

(finance) An underlying instrument of a derivatives strategy.

Shank

(metalworking) A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it.

Leg

An army soldier assigned to a paratrooper unit who has not yet been qualified as a paratrooper.

Shank

The body of a type; between the shoulder and the foot.

Leg

(archaic) A gesture of submission; a bow or curtsey. Chiefly in phrase make a leg.

Shank

(shoemaking) The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel.

Leg

(journalism) A column, as a unit of length of text as laid out.

Shank

Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.

Leg

To remove the legs from an animal carcass.

Shank

The end or remainder, particularly of a period of time.

Leg

To build legs onto a platform or stage for support.

Shank

The main part or beginning of a period of time.
The shank of the morning

Leg

To put a series of three or more options strikes into the stock market.

Shank

To travel on foot.

Leg

To apply force using the leg (as in 'to leg a horse').

Shank

(slang) To stab, especially with an improvised blade.

Leg

Alternative spelling of leg.

Shank

(slang) To remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants.

Leg

A limb or member of an animal used for supporting the body, and in running, climbing, and swimming; esp., that part of the limb between the knee and foot.

Shank

To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.

Leg

That which resembles a leg in form or use; especially, any long and slender support on which any object rests; as, the leg of a table; the leg of a pair of compasses or dividers.

Shank

To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.

Leg

The part of any article of clothing which covers the leg; as, the leg of a stocking or of a pair of trousers.

Shank

(intransitive) To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off.

Leg

A bow, esp. in the phrase to make a leg; probably from drawing the leg backward in bowing.
He that will give a cap and make a leg in thanks for a favor he never received.

Shank

To provide (a button) with a shank loop forming an eye.

Leg

A disreputable sporting character; a blackleg.

Shank

(shoemaking) To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it.

Leg

The course and distance made by a vessel on one tack or between tacks.

Shank

(slang) Bad.

Leg

An extension of the boiler downward, in the form of a narrow space between vertical plates, sometimes nearly surrounding the furnace and ash pit, and serving to support the boiler; - called also water leg.

Shank

See Chank.

Leg

The case containing the lower part of the belt which carries the buckets.

Shank

The part of the leg from the knee to the foot; the shin; the shin bone; also, the whole leg.
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wideFor his shrunk shank.

Leg

A fielder whose position is on the outside, a little in rear of the batter.

Shank

Hence, that part of an instrument, tool, or other thing, which connects the acting part with a handle or other part, by which it is held or moved.

Leg

Either side of a triangle distinguished from the base or, in a right triangle, from the hypotenuse; also, an indefinitely extending branch of a curve, as of a hyperbola.

Shank

The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph.

Leg

A branch or lateral circuit connecting an instrument with the main line.

Shank

A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it.

Leg

A branch circuit; one phase of a polyphase system.

Shank

The body of a type.

Leg

To use as a leg, with it as object

Shank

The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel.

Leg

A human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part between the knee and ankle

Shank

A wading bird with long legs; as, the green-legged shank, or knot; the yellow shank, or tattler; - called also shanks.

Leg

A structure in animals that is similar to a human leg and used for locomotion

Shank

Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.

Leg

One of the supports for a piece of furniture

Shank

To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; - usually followed by off.

Leg

A part of a forked or branching shape;
He broke off one of the branches
They took the south fork

Shank

A cut of meat (beef or veal or mutton or lamb) from the upper part of the leg

Leg

The limb of an animal used for food

Shank

The part of the human leg between the knee and the ankle

Leg

A prosthesis that replaces a missing leg

Shank

Cylinder forming a long narrow part of something

Leg

Cloth covering consisting of the part of a garment that covers the leg

Shank

Cylinder forming the part of a bolt between the thread and the head

Leg

(nautical) the distance traveled by a sailing vessel on a single tack

Shank

Cylinder forming the part of a bit by which it is held in the drill

Leg

A section or portion of a journey or course;
Then we embarked on the second stage of our Caribbean cruise

Shank

The narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide part of the sole

Shank

Lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals

Shank

A poor golf stroke in which the heel of the club hits the ball

Shank

Hit (a golf ball) with the heel of a club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction

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