bank

[ bangk ]

/ bæŋk /

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See synonyms for: bank / banked / banking on Thesaurus.com

noun

a long pile or heap; mass: a bank of earth;a bank of clouds.

a slope or acclivity.

Physical Geography. the slope immediately bordering a stream course along which the water normally runs.

a broad elevation of the seafloor around which the water is relatively shallow but is not a hazard to surface navigation.

Coal Mining. the surface around the mouth of a shaft.

Also called cant, superelevation. the inclination of the bed of a banked road or railroad.

Aeronautics. the lateral inclination of an aircraft, especially during a turn.

Billiards, Pool. the cushion of the table.

verb (used with object)

to border with or like a bank; embank: banking the river with sandbags at flood stage.

to form into a bank or heap (usually followed by up): to bank up the snow.

to build (a road or railroad track) with an upward slope from the inner edge to the outer edge at a curve.

Aeronautics. to tip or incline (an airplane) laterally.

Billiards, Pool.

to drive (a ball) to the cushion.
to pocket (the object ball) by driving it against the bank.

to cover (a fire) with ashes or fuel to make it burn long and slowly.

verb (used without object)

to build up in or form banks, as clouds or snow.

Aeronautics. to tip or incline an airplane laterally.

Horology. (of a lever or balance) to be halted at either end of its oscillation by striking a pin or the like.

(of a road or railroad track) to slope upward from the inner edge to the outer edge at a curve.

OTHER WORDS FOR bank

1 embankment, mound, ridge, dike.

See synonyms for bank on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of bank

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English banke, bonke “(natural) ridge,” from Old Norse bakki “elevation, hill,” Swedish backe, Danish bakke, from unattested Germanic bank-ōn-; perhaps akin to Sanskrit bhañj- “bend,” Lithuanian bangà “a wave”; see bank³, bench

synonym study for bank

3. See shore¹.

Other definitions for bank (2 of 3)

bank²

[ bangk ]

/ bæŋk /

noun

an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging, and safeguarding money and, in some cases, issuing notes and transacting other financial business.

the office or quarters of such an institution.

Games.

the stock or fund of pieces from which the players draw.
the fund of the manager or the dealer.

a special storage place: a blood bank; a sperm bank.

a store or reserve.

Obsolete.

a sum of money, especially as a fund for use in business.
a moneychanger's table, counter, or shop.

verb (used without object)

to keep money in or have an account with a bank: Do you bank at the Village Savings Bank?

to exercise the functions of a bank or banker.

Games. to hold the bank.

verb (used with object)

to deposit in a bank: to bank one's paycheck.

Verb Phrases

bank on / upon to count on; depend on: You can bank on him to hand you a reasonable bill for his services.

Origin of bank

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French banque, from Italian banca “table, counter, moneychanger's table,” from Old High German bank bench

Other definitions for bank (3 of 3)

bank³

[ bangk ]

/ bæŋk /

noun

an arrangement of objects in a line or in tiers: a bank of seats; a bank of lights.

Music. a row of keys on an organ.

a row of elevator cars, as in a hotel or high-rise office building.

a bench for rowers in a galley.

a row or tier of oars.

the group of rowers occupying one bench or rowing one oar.

Printing.

(formerly) a bench on which sheets are placed as printed.
Also called, especially British, random. the sloping work surface at the top of a compositor's workbench.
a table or rack on which type material is stored before being made up in forms.

Also called deck. Journalism. a part of a headline containing one or more lines of type, especially a part that appears below the main part.

Electricity. a number of similar devices connected to act together: a bank of transformers; a bank of resistors.

verb (used with object)

to arrange in a bank: to bank the seats; to bank the lights.

Origin of bank

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English bank(e), from Old French banc “bench,” from Germanic; see bank¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bank in a sentence

Most Americans saw that $1,200 stimulus check automatically deposit into their bank accounts.
Saturday is the final deadline to get your CARES Act $1,200 stimulus check|Lance Lambert|November 20, 2020|Fortune
Both urban and rural food networks have seen donations drop, forcing food banks to dip into their own budgets to purchase food that usually would be freely given.
‘Can’t eat a gift card’: Rural food banks fight to put turkeys on the table|Kyle Swenson|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Interest ratesCentral banks have kept rates low during the pandemic.
The biggest risks and opportunities for investors in 2021|matthewheimer|November 20, 2020|Fortune
Bank stocks have lagged the broader market, but bank earnings should jump as the economy moves closer to normalcy.
The 21 best stocks to buy for 2021|Anne Sraders|November 20, 2020|Fortune

As recently outlined in a major study, business owners of color overall, both male and female, are plagued by the challenges of finding equity capital to launch a new venture, or of accessing bank credit for expansion.
To jump-start America’s economy, invest in women entrepreneurs of color|matthewheimer|November 19, 2020|Fortune
At 9:03, the second plane banked sickly toward the south tower as the world watched on television.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11|John Avlon|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It banked a Disney-record $67.4 million over the three-day weekend, and $93.9 million for the five-day holiday.
Why ‘Frozen’ Is the Highest-Grossing Animated Movie Ever|Marina Watts|March 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We drove along the beach outside of her base to a highway banked by long stretches of shopping developments.
Spies, Lies, and Rape in the Air Force: An Undercover Agent's Story|Jacob Siegel|March 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is a comfort level for women to be banked by other women.
Investing in Women|Credit Suisse|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The de Blasio campaign banked on the ultra-liberal electorate that decides New York City primary elections.
Bill de Blasio Cruises to Victory in New York City Mayoral Primary|David Freedlander|September 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
About midnight the combination of sultry heat and banked clouds produced the usual results.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
In the west the sky was a maze of colors as the last rays of the sun flashed on the banked clouds.
The Adventure Girls at K Bar O|Clair Blank
Between green thickets and leafy arbors she could see the silver stream of the Kuweik creeping silently in its flower-banked bed.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
He banked left and followed the contour of the mountain, and found another group of soldiers camped near the pumice works.
The Flaming Mountain|Harold Leland Goodwin
The entire pedestal was banked by pots of growing plants—including palms, dracinas, ponisettas in full bloom, etc.
The Bay State Monthly, Vol. II, No. 6, March, 1885|Various

British Dictionary definitions for bank (1 of 3)

bank¹

/ (bæŋk) /

noun

an institution offering certain financial services, such as the safekeeping of money, conversion of domestic into and from foreign currencies, lending of money at interest, and acceptance of bills of exchange

the building used by such an institution

a small container used at home for keeping money

the funds held by a gaming house or a banker or dealer in some gambling games

(in various games)

the stock, as of money, pieces, tokens, etc, on which players may draw
the player holding this stock

any supply, store, or reserve, for future usea data bank; a blood bank

verb

(tr) to deposit (cash, cheques, etc) in a bank

(intr) to transact business with a bank

(intr) to engage in the business of banking

(intr) to hold the bank in some gambling games

Word Origin for bank

C15: probably from Italian banca bench, moneychanger's table, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German banc bench

British Dictionary definitions for bank (2 of 3)

bank²

/ (bæŋk) /

noun

a long raised mass, esp of earth; mound; ridge

a slope, as of a hill

the sloping side of any hollow in the ground, esp when bordering a riverthe left bank of a river is on a spectator's left looking downstream

an elevated section, rising to near the surface, of the bed of a sea, lake, or river
(in combination)sandbank; mudbank

the area around the mouth of the shaft of a mine
the face of a body of ore

the lateral inclination of an aircraft about its longitudinal axis during a turn

Also called: banking, camber, cant, superelevation a bend on a road or on a railway, athletics, cycling, or other track having the outside built higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force on vehicles, runners, etc, rounding it at speed and in some cases to facilitate drainage

the cushion of a billiard table

verb

(when tr, often foll by up) to form into a bank or mound

(tr) to border or enclose (a road, etc) with a bank

(tr, sometimes foll by up) to cover (a fire) with ashes, fresh fuel, etc, so that it will burn slowly

to cause (an aircraft) to tip laterally about its longitudinal axis or (of an aircraft) to tip in this way, esp while turning

to travel round a bank, esp at high speed

(tr) billiards to drive (a ball) into the cushion

Word Origin for bank

C12: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Icelandic bakki hill, Old Danish banke, Swedish backe

British Dictionary definitions for bank (3 of 3)

bank³

/ (bæŋk) /

noun

an arrangement of objects, esp similar objects, in a row or in tiersa bank of dials

a tier of oars in a galley
a bench for the rowers in a galley

a grade of lightweight writing and printing paper used for airmail letters, etc

telephony (in automatic switching) an assembly of fixed electrical contacts forming a rigid unit in a selector or similar device

verb

(tr) to arrange in a bank

Word Origin for bank

C17: from Old French banc bench, of Germanic origin; see bank 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with bank

bank

In addition to the idiom beginning with bank

bank on

also see:

break the bank
laugh all the way to the bank

bank

OTHER WORDS FOR bank

Origin of bank

synonym study for bank

Other definitions for bank (2 of 3)

Origin of bank

Other definitions for bank (3 of 3)

Origin of bank

Words related to bank

How to use bank in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bank (1 of 3)

Word Origin for bank

British Dictionary definitions for bank (2 of 3)

Word Origin for bank

British Dictionary definitions for bank (3 of 3)

Word Origin for bank

Other Idioms and Phrases with bank