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• bench
  bench

  noun

  a long seat for several people.
• Bench
  Bench

  noun

  Johnny, born 1947, U.S. baseball player.

bench

¹ American  

[bench] / bɛntʃ /

noun

• benches
  plural

1. a long seat for several people.

   a bench in the park.

2. a seat occupied by an official, especially a judge.

3. such a seat as a symbol of the office and dignity of an individual judge or the judiciary.

4. the office or dignity of various other officials, or the officials themselves.

5. 1. the seat on which the players of a team sit during a game while not playing.

   2. the quality and number of the players of a team who are usually used as substitutes.

      A weak bench hurt their chances for the championship.

   3. the quality and number of professionals or experts in reserve, to be called upon as needed.

      The country has a deep bench of scientists.

6. Informal. bench press.

7. Also called workbench.  the strong worktable of a carpenter or other mechanic.

8. a platform on which animals are placed for exhibition, especially at a dog show.

9. a contest or exhibition of dogs; dog show.

10. Physical Geography. a shelflike area of rock with steep slopes above and below.

11. Mining. a step or working elevation in a mine.

12. berm.

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verb (used with object)

• benches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• benched,
  past participle,  past
• benching
  present participle

1. to furnish with benches.

2. to seat on a bench or on the bench.

   an election that benched him in the district court.

3. to place (a show dog or other animal) in exhibition.

4. to cut away the working faces of (a mine or quarry) in benches.

5. Sports. to remove from a game or keep from participating in a game.

   to be benched because of poor hitting.

idioms

1. on the bench,

   1. serving as a judge in a court of law; presiding.

   2. Sports. (of a player) not participating in play, either for part or all of a game.

Bench ² American  

[bench] / bɛntʃ /

noun

1. Johnny, born 1947, U.S. baseball player.

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bench British  

/ bɛntʃ /

noun

1. a long seat for more than one person, usually lacking a back or arms

2. a plain stout worktable

3. (sometimes capital)

   1. a judge or magistrate sitting in court in a judicial capacity

   2. judges or magistrates collectively

4. sport the seat on which reserve players and officials sit during a game

5. geology a flat narrow platform of land, esp one marking a former shoreline

6. a ledge in a mine or quarry from which work is carried out

7. (in a gymnasium) a low table, which may be inclined, used for various exercises

8. a platform on which dogs or other domestic animals are exhibited at shows

9. a hollow on a hillside formed by sheep

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verb

1. to provide with benches

2. to exhibit (a dog, etc) at a show

3. to form (a track) up a hill by excavating a flattened area

4. sport to take or keep (a player) out of a game, often for disciplinary reasons

bench More Idioms  

1. see on the bench; warm the bench.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbench
  verb (used with object)
• benchless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• benches
  plural

Participles

• benching
  present
• benched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bench
  simple
• benches
  simple
• have benched
  perfect
• has benched
  perfect
• am benching
  progressive
• are benching
  progressive
• is benching
  progressive
• have been benching
  perfect progressive
• has been benching
  perfect progressive

Past

• benched
  simple
• had benched
  perfect
• was benching
  progressive
• were benching
  progressive
• had been benching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bench
  simple
• will have benched
  perfect
• will be benching
  progressive
• will have been benching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bench

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English benc; cognate with Old Frisian benk, Old Saxon, Dutch, Old High German bank, Old Norse bekkr, from unattested Germanic bank-iz; see bank ¹

Explanation

A bench is a long, flat seat that can usually accommodate several people. A city park bench is a nice place to sit and eat a sandwich. A picnic table often has benches, and a bench is where baseball players wait for their turn to take a swing at the ball. You might have a work bench in your garage for gluing model planes together. A judge's symbolic office is known as "the bench," and to bench an athlete is to make her take a break from the court or field — if she has to do this often, she'll be known as a "bench warmer."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bench Bench benches benched benching

McDonald, the new Sullivan & Cromwell lead attorney, wasn’t an antitrust specialist, though his two partners on the matter were, and Live Nation already had a deep bench of top flight lawyers from other firms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Yet Dutchman Gakpo was Liverpool's best player at Newcastle and took his goal brilliantly - while there was another positive in the performance of Spanish forward Victor Munoz on his Liverpool debut from the bench.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Greater relative abundance of both R inulinivorans and R intestinalis was also associated with better performance on the leg press and bench press.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

What was called was an unsportsmanlike penalty on 49ers tackle Trent Williams, who came off the bench to celebrate the return.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

He taught me to weave mats for the floor, and we cut more bamboo and fashioned a rough bench.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

"He experiences sleep-wake cycles but exhibits no meaningful interaction and has been dependent on others for all activities of self-care," the judges said, according to legal news website Bar and Bench.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026

Appeared in the January 8, 2026, print edition as 'Judge Dugan Leaves the Bench'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026

This piece was originally published in the Behind the Bench newsletter on state constitutional law.

From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2025

Central BID, who are behind the operation to remove the tributes from the Black Sabbath Bench and mural, said a team was working "around the clock" to process all of the tributes.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2025

If you were Indian, you knew all about Sandy June’s, eventually—and if you’re Indian from around here, how to find the Bench Tree opening, a nearly invisible entrance.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

"There were no benches, no bathrooms, no drinking water, no facilities at all. Even animals would not be kept in such a place," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Before the war, Iryna Terekh’s small business made outdoor furniture and ornaments such as benches, flower pots and wash basins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

He added a couple hundred more at the Shrine Auditorium and many more than that in Caracas, with student singers on benches that rose precariously to the top of a tall concert hall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

This would vindicate the Fed’s July caution in defying the clamor from the media and financial back benches to raise rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

And she walks down the runway of benches like it’s no big deal.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Coach Rod Brind’Amour benched starting goalie Frederik Andersen in Game 3, inserting Brandon Bussi, who then led the team to three straight wins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Jarred Vanderbilt was certainly running hot Tuesday night in a rematch against Oklahoma City after he was benched in the first moments of the second quarter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

That earned him a lucrative extension but two months later he was concussed again, and after some underwhelming form in 2025 he was benched for the final three games of last season.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

Dave Cherry starts at hooker in place of the benched George Turner, with Glasgow lock Max Williamson taking Brown's place in the second row.

From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026

“And you can’t afford to be benched, dude. Especially since scouts are checkin’ for you, hard,” I said.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

The players were caught, resulting in the coach benching them for an upcoming game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

This time around, there haven’t been talks of benching Kimmel within the company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

“But in today’s landscape, benching your stars isn’t realistic. Wins are too valuable, and money — whether we admit it or not — drives everything.”

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026

Inter coach Cristian Chivu started with Lautaro Martinez and Ange-Yoan Bonny up front, benching Marcus Thuram after Sunday's disappointing derby defeat by AC Milan.

From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025

Barlow, from scanning the heavens, turned round and faced the company, which had drooped in several attitudes of exhaustion on the benching of the piazza.

From Dr. Breen's Practice by William Dean Howells

Related Words

• board
• counter
• desk
• shelf