Banks

American  

[bangks] / bæŋks /

noun

1. Sir Joseph, 1734–1820, English naturalist.

2. Nathaniel Prentiss 1816–94, U.S. army officer and politician: Speaker of the House 1856–57.

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Banks British  

/ bæŋks /

noun

1. Iain ( Menzies ). 1954–2013, Scottish novelist and science fiction writer. His novels include The Wasp Factory (1984), The Crow Road (1992), and The Steep Approach to Garbadale (2007); science-fiction (under the name Iain M. Banks) includes Look to Windward (2000)

2. Sir Joseph . 1743–1820, British botanist and explorer: circumnavigated the world with James Cook (1768–71)

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Banks Scientific  

/ băngks /

1. British botanist who took part in Captain James Cook's voyage around the world (1768–1771), during which he discovered and cataloged many species of plant and animal life.

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Example Sentences

Rising inflation might lead to a quicker pace of central banks’ rate increases, diminishing the non-interest-bearing appeal of the precious metal.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

According to Moody’s, which provides credit ratings for companies and governments, U.S. banks’ exposure to private credit was almost $300 billion, as of June last year.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

He added that central banks’ reliance on backward-looking economic data meant they were likely “to dawdle, rather than hike.”

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

Ackman appeared on a podcast with Robinhood Chief Executive Vlad Tenev and visited some banks’ wealth-management offices to pitch financial advisers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

“Whatever the banks’ net position was would determine the mark,” he said.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis