plank

[plangk]

noun

1. a long, flat piece of timber, thicker than a board.

2. lumber in such pieces; planking.

3. something to stand on or to cling to for support.

4. any one of the stated principles or objectives comprising the political platform of a party campaigning for election.

   They fought for a plank supporting a nuclear freeze.

verb (used with object)

1. to lay, cover, or furnish with planks.

2. to bake or broil and serve (steak, fish, chicken, etc.) on a wooden board.

3. plunk.

plank

¹

/ plæŋk /

noun

1. a stout length of sawn timber

2. something that supports or sustains

3. one of the policies in a political party's programme

4. to be forced by pirates to walk to one's death off the end of a plank jutting out over the water from the side of a ship

5. slang,  a stupid person; idiot

verb

1. to cover or provide (an area) with planks

2. to beat (meat) to make it tender

3. to cook or serve (meat or fish) on a special wooden board

plank

²

/ plæŋk /

verb

1. (tr) to hide; cache

Other Word Forms

• plankless adjective
• planklike adjective
• unplanked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plank¹

1275–1325; Middle English planke < Old North French < Latin planca board, plank. See planch

Word History and Origins

Origin of plank¹

C13: from Old Norman French planke, from Late Latin planca board, from plancus flat-footed; probably related to Greek plax flat surface

Origin of plank²

C19: a variant of plant

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. walk the plank,

   1. to be forced, as by pirates, to walk to one's death by stepping off a plank extending from the ship's side over the water.

   2. to relinquish something, as a position, office, etc., under compulsion.

      We suspect that the new vice-president walked the plank because of a personality clash.

see walk the plank.

Example Sentences

Aided by the algorithm’s endless churn and the 24-hour news cycle’s constant present, they’ve turned trolling into a key plank of their agenda.

Read more on Salon

The central plank of this strategy was to increase the number of GPs in Scotland by at least 800 by 2027.

Read more on BBC

But these planks of granite lined Pottinger in the 1850s and tilted and dented with time.

Read more on Salon

A T-Mobile store was boarded up with wood planks, and other storefronts were closed or had their metal gates pulled down.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Just before 9 a.m., two workers from C. Erwin Piper Technical Center carried planks of plywood to City Hall to board up the windows.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• lumber 
• platform 
• slab 
• timber