Flank

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun The side of any building.

II. Flank ·vi To be posted on the side.

III. Flank ·vt To stand at the flank or side of; to border upon.

IV. Flank ·vi To Border; to Touch.

V. Flank ·noun That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth that lies within the pitch line.

VI. Flank ·noun The fleshy or muscular part of the side of an animal, between the ribs and the hip. ·see ·Illust. of Beef.

VII. Flank ·vt To overlook or command the flank of; to secure or guard the flank of; to pass around or turn the flank of; to attack, or threaten to attack; the flank of.

VIII. Flank ·noun The side of an army, or of any division of an army, as of a brigade, regiment, or battalion; the extreme right or left; as, to attack an enemy in flank is to attack him on the side.

IX. Flank ·noun That part of a bastion which reaches from the curtain to the face, and defends the curtain, the flank and face of the opposite bastion; any part of a work defending another by a fire along the outside of its parapet.

Related Words

  • flank, to

    To defend that part; incorrectly used sometimes for firing upon a flank. ...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • flank-companies

    The extreme right and left companies of a battalion, formerly called the grenadiers and light infant...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • flank-defence

    A line of fire parallel, or nearly so, to the front of another work or position. ...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • out-flank, to

    By a longer front, to overlap the enemy's opposite line, and thus gain a chance to turn his flank. ...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • flank of an army

    The right or left side or end, as distinguished from the front and rear a vulnerable point. Also, th...

    The Sailor's Word-Book