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.

---

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)

---

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.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Banks

Banks have been aggressively courting such customers with cards promising increasingly elaborate perks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Anticompetitive practices are strong-arming our cities, wasting taxpayer dollars, and leaving firefighters without lifesaving equipment,” Banks said separately.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

“For these guys,” Banks said, the goal “is extraction,” and “what they’re extracting is not just our money, but our data.”

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

In the Slate Plus episode: Banks are making bank.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026

And he rows all the way from the Grand Banks, off Nova Scotia, to Gloucester, Massachusetts.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick