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• bench
  bench

  noun

  a long seat for several people.
• Bench
  Bench

  noun

  Johnny, born 1947, U.S. baseball player.

bench

¹ American  

[bench] / bɛntʃ /

noun

• benches
  plural

1. a long seat for several people.

   a bench in the park.

2. a seat occupied by an official, especially a judge.

3. such a seat as a symbol of the office and dignity of an individual judge or the judiciary.

4. the office or dignity of various other officials, or the officials themselves.

5. 1. the seat on which the players of a team sit during a game while not playing.

   2. the quality and number of the players of a team who are usually used as substitutes.

      A weak bench hurt their chances for the championship.

   3. the quality and number of professionals or experts in reserve, to be called upon as needed.

      The country has a deep bench of scientists.

6. Informal. bench press.

7. Also called workbench. the strong worktable of a carpenter or other mechanic.

8. a platform on which animals are placed for exhibition, especially at a dog show.

9. a contest or exhibition of dogs; dog show.

10. Physical Geography. a shelflike area of rock with steep slopes above and below.

11. Mining. a step or working elevation in a mine.

12. berm.

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verb (used with object)

• benches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• benched,
  past participle,  past
• benching
  present participle

1. to furnish with benches.

2. to seat on a bench or on the bench.

   an election that benched him in the district court.

3. to place (a show dog or other animal) in exhibition.

4. to cut away the working faces of (a mine or quarry) in benches.

5. Sports. to remove from a game or keep from participating in a game.

   to be benched because of poor hitting.

idioms

1. on the bench,

   1. serving as a judge in a court of law; presiding.

   2. Sports. (of a player) not participating in play, either for part or all of a game.

Bench ² American  

[bench] / bɛntʃ /

noun

1. Johnny, born 1947, U.S. baseball player.

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bench British  

/ bɛntʃ /

noun

1. a long seat for more than one person, usually lacking a back or arms

2. a plain stout worktable

3. (sometimes capital)

   1. a judge or magistrate sitting in court in a judicial capacity

   2. judges or magistrates collectively

4. sport the seat on which reserve players and officials sit during a game

5. geology a flat narrow platform of land, esp one marking a former shoreline

6. a ledge in a mine or quarry from which work is carried out

7. (in a gymnasium) a low table, which may be inclined, used for various exercises

8. a platform on which dogs or other domestic animals are exhibited at shows

9. a hollow on a hillside formed by sheep

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verb

1. to provide with benches

2. to exhibit (a dog, etc) at a show

3. to form (a track) up a hill by excavating a flattened area

4. sport to take or keep (a player) out of a game, often for disciplinary reasons

bench More Idioms  

1. see on the bench; warm the bench.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbench
  verb (used with object)
• benchless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• benches
  plural

Participles

• benching
  present
• benched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bench
  simple
• benches
  simple
• have benched
  perfect
• has benched
  perfect
• am benching
  progressive
• are benching
  progressive
• is benching
  progressive
• have been benching
  perfect progressive
• has been benching
  perfect progressive

Past

• benched
  simple
• had benched
  perfect
• was benching
  progressive
• were benching
  progressive
• had been benching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bench
  simple
• will have benched
  perfect
• will be benching
  progressive
• will have been benching
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of bench

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English benc; cognate with Old Frisian benk, Old Saxon, Dutch, Old High German bank, Old Norse bekkr, from unattested Germanic bank-iz; see bank ¹

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Explanation

A bench is a long, flat seat that can usually accommodate several people. A city park bench is a nice place to sit and eat a sandwich. A picnic table often has benches, and a bench is where baseball players wait for their turn to take a swing at the ball. You might have a work bench in your garage for gluing model planes together. A judge's symbolic office is known as "the bench," and to bench an athlete is to make her take a break from the court or field — if she has to do this often, she'll be known as a "bench warmer."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bench Bench benches benched benching

For Sweet, that means more hours at the laboratory bench, carefully cutting and analyzing tiny sections of tumor tissue in the search for answers to one of cancer biology's most important questions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

Uribe walks the first two batters, and Roberts deploys his primary left-handed bench threat, Max Muncy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Saracens' Bryony Field, who has three caps to Cokayne's 94, drops to the bench after deputising impressively in the first half of the WXV Global Series last month.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Last April, Albert, a month shy of his 17th birthday, became the youngest American to play in the German Bundesliga when he came off the bench for Dortmund.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Right away, she pulled me onto the bench to sit next to her and started chattering to me.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Bench players Luis Romo and Armando González, who also saw action in the opener, also play for Chivas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

It is rated as the best programme for some elements of vibe coding according to ratings from App Bench and other analysts.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

This piece was originally published in the Behind the Bench newsletter on state constitutional law.

From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2025

“Vending Bench reflects one of the things we were hoping to really shift with this model and push on, which is improved tool use and improved planning,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025

If you were Indian, you knew all about Sandy June’s, eventually—and if you’re Indian from around here, how to find the Bench Tree opening, a nearly invisible entrance.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

A number of Linton’s loved ones sat away from them in a separate row of benches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Some rested on cots and benches with their dogs in hallways, while others lay with blankets on the floors of classrooms where desks and chairs were pushed to the side.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Sleeping in flophouses and on bus stop benches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Still, the normally rowdy opposition benches of Westminster remained quiet while Miliband read his remarks directly off the sheets of paper in front of him.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

Instead of crammed rows of benches front to back like a school shuttle, though, there are only ten seats on each side, each as large as those in the cockpit.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

After having only 11 turnovers last year, he already has seven this season after another three against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he was benched as the Jags romped to a 35-6 home win.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

There is uncertainty over how De Zerbi will line up, and Senesi is at risk of being benched given Tottenham's depth at centre-back.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Ronaldo may still look like he belongs in a Marvel movie, but his dip in efficiency already saw him benched at the World Cup four years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

Jarred Vanderbilt was certainly running hot Tuesday night in a rematch against Oklahoma City after he was benched in the first moments of the second quarter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

Plus, I didn’t want English to get benched for something like renaming a play after me.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

The Dodgers are not benching Shohei Ohtani despite lingering injuries and a long slump.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

“But in today’s landscape, benching your stars isn’t realistic. Wins are too valuable, and money — whether we admit it or not — drives everything.”

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026

His showing was so impressive that LaFleur felt compelled to squash any chatter about benching Love, the quarterback the team signed to a $220 million contract, in favor of Willis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026

Inter coach Cristian Chivu started with Lautaro Martinez and Ange-Yoan Bonny up front, benching Marcus Thuram after Sunday's disappointing derby defeat by AC Milan.

From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025

The closing of the door behind Northwick roused a little black figure drooping forward on the benching in one corner.

From The Quality of Mercy by William Dean Howells

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