banquette

[ bang-ket; locally bang-kit ]

noun

1. a long bench with an upholstered seat, especially one along a wall, as in a restaurant.
2. an embankment for buttressing the base of a levee and forming a berm.
3. Chiefly Coastal Louisiana and East Texas. a sidewalk, especially a raised one of bricks or planks.
4. Fortification. a platform or step along the inside of a parapet, for soldiers to stand on when firing.
5. a ledge running across the back of a buffet.
6. a bench for passengers on top of a stagecoach.

banquette

/ bæŋˈkɛt /

noun

1. an upholstered bench
2. (formerly) a raised part behind a parapet
3. a footbridge

Word History and Origins

Origin of banquette¹

1620–30; < French < Provençal banqueta, equivalent to banc bench ( bank ³ ) + -eta -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of banquette¹

C17: from French, from Provençal banqueta , literally: a little bench, from banc bench; see bank ³

Example Sentences

I’m talking banquettes the shade of marinara sauce, Sinatra on the soundtrack, chianti in straw-swaddled bottles and herby hot garlic bread presented with a four-cheese dunk.

From Washington Post

A curved banquette in the main dining room is outfitted with see-through partitions on rollers, a sign of the times some of us hope to say adios to, soon.

From Washington Post

If I’m not sitting outside the green behemoth, on the patio, I’m in the bar, on a capacious raised banquette facing the scene outside.

From Washington Post

The front dining room, staged with a faux fireplace and lined with leather banquettes, is a mash-up of a library, a toy store and a Georgetown yard sale.

From Washington Post

Then one of them notices a stunning-looking young stranger—Carey Mulligan—sprawled on a nearby banquette, apparently drunk out of her mind.

From Time

Best Seat in the House: The leather banquette directly across from the bar.

From The Daily Beast

Dunst was hanging in a banquette with the designers of Rodarte.

From The Daily Beast

The boys were dragging along the banquette a small "express wagon," which they had filled with blocks and sticks.

From Project Gutenberg

Edna rang the bell at this side garden gate, and stood upon the banquette, waiting to be admitted.

From Project Gutenberg

Victor escorted her out upon the banquette, lifted her parasol, and held it over her while he walked to the car with her.

From Project Gutenberg

They finally gained the banquette, or platform, after a difficult and exhausting climb.

From Project Gutenberg

Rallying on the banquette, upon the return of the others, they in turn drove the Indians out of the fort.

From Project Gutenberg