plank

American  

[plangk] / plæŋk /

noun

1. a long, flat piece of timber, thicker than a board.

2. lumber in such pieces; planking.

3. something to stand on or to cling to for support.

4. any one of the stated principles or objectives comprising the political platform of a party campaigning for election.

   They fought for a plank supporting a nuclear freeze.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to lay, cover, or furnish with planks.

2. to bake or broil and serve (steak, fish, chicken, etc.) on a wooden board.

3. plunk.

idioms

1. walk the plank,

   1. to be forced, as by pirates, to walk to one's death by stepping off a plank extending from the ship's side over the water.

   2. to relinquish something, as a position, office, etc., under compulsion.

      We suspect that the new vice-president walked the plank because of a personality clash.

plank ¹ British  

/ plæŋk /

noun

1. a stout length of sawn timber

2. something that supports or sustains

3. one of the policies in a political party's programme

4. to be forced by pirates to walk to one's death off the end of a plank jutting out over the water from the side of a ship

5. slang a stupid person; idiot

---

verb

1. to cover or provide (an area) with planks

2. to beat (meat) to make it tender

3. to cook or serve (meat or fish) on a special wooden board

plank ² British  

/ plæŋk /

verb

1. (tr) to hide; cache

---

plank More Idioms  

1. see walk the plank.

---

Other Word Forms

• plankless adjective
• planklike adjective
• unplanked adjective

Etymology

Origin of plank

1275–1325; Middle English planke < Old North French < Latin planca board, plank. See planch

Example Sentences

So you have 21 representatives from the central banking community all saying we need to go forward with these five key planks of reforms and development.

From The Wall Street Journal

He travels at roughly 5:20-mile pace, uphill, with his feet strapped to carbon-fiber planks, after he’s skied at top speed for several minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal

A fresh scientific investigation of the Hjortspring boat, an ancient wooden plank vessel displayed at the National Museum of Denmark, is shedding new light on where it may have come from.

From Science Daily

Residents dug through piles of debris, planks and corrugated metal to repair their makeshift homes.

From Barron's

A large layer of planking is missing from the vessel's interior, which indicates the remains have been buried in sand since the 1630s, according to the National Trust.

From BBC

Related Words

• lumber
• platform
• slab
• timber