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commercial bank

American  

noun

  1. a bank specializing in checking accounts and short-term loans.


commercial bank British  

noun

  1. a bank primarily engaged in making short-term loans from funds deposited in current accounts

"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

Etymology

Origin of commercial bank

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Notably, Affirm is moving to become an industrial loan company rather than a commercial bank.

From Barron's Feb. 6, 2026

The deal will make the Madrid-headquartered firm the tenth largest retail and commercial bank in the U.S. by assets, and the fifth largest by deposits in the Northeast.

From MarketWatch Feb. 4, 2026

It also continued to grow its coast-to-coast consumer and commercial bank, which today has $1.96 trillion in deposits, second only to JPMorgan Chase.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 12, 2025

The scheme is being funded by JLR itself, using credit provided by a commercial bank.

From BBC Oct. 7, 2025

In the past few years, more than 700 state enterprises have been privatized, including the country's largest commercial bank and a number of sizable manufacturing firms.

From The 1998 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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