plank
Americannoun
-
planks
plural
-
a long, flat piece of timber, thicker than a board.
-
lumber in such pieces; planking.
-
something to stand on or to cling to for support.
-
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)
-
planks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
planked,
past participle, past
-
planking
present participle
-
to lay, cover, or furnish with planks.
-
to bake or broil and serve (steak, fish, chicken, etc.) on a wooden board.
idioms
noun
-
a stout length of sawn timber
-
something that supports or sustains
-
one of the policies in a political party's programme
-
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
-
slang a stupid person; idiot
verb
-
to cover or provide (an area) with planks
-
to beat (meat) to make it tender
-
to cook or serve (meat or fish) on a special wooden board
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
planksimple
-
plankssimple
-
have plankedperfect
-
has plankedperfect
-
am plankingprogressive
-
are plankingprogressive
-
is plankingprogressive
-
have been plankingperfect progressive
-
has been plankingperfect progressive
Past
-
plankedsimple
-
had plankedperfect
-
was plankingprogressive
-
were plankingprogressive
-
had been plankingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of plank
1275–1325; Middle English planke < Old North French < Latin planca board, plank. See planch
Explanation
A plank is a board or another rectangular piece of wood. When you're building your four-story treehouse, you'll need a lot of planks. If you've ever watched a movie about pirates, you've heard of "walking the plank," a despicable way to punish captives, forcing them to plunge off the end of a plank (or a "gang plank") into the ocean below. Planks are more commonly used to build houses or hold a fish as it cooks on a grill. Another kind of plank is a political platform, like a candidate's environmental plank, focused on reducing carbon emissions.
Vocabulary lists containing plank
Words Every Pirate Should Know
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Speech and Debate
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Mixer" by P.G. Wodehouse
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
In one, the “reset” between exercises was an ab plank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
In addition to the barre work, we did a plank series, light push-ups and arm work, as well as glutes and core work on the mat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"I managed to find a wooden plank, which I clung to for two days and one night," Begum said, noting she eventually caught the attention of a passing rescue ship.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
The man eventually used a wooden plank to guide the bear out of the truck, allowing both to walk away unharmed.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
In fact, as I get closer, I see that the plank itself is cracked.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
"Parents came from all over looking for their children. That's when I saw a huge fire engulfing our school built of wooden planks," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
But it goes even further with deluxe editions that have custom illustrations or come packaged in rare or unexpected materials—including wooden planks from a ship John Steinbeck once sailed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
In the beginning, Peck says it was easy to find trees and hire a mobile sawmill to cut them into planks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
The door had been barricaded - reinforced with planks of wood and bricks - making entry more difficult.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
Before I could react, the planks in the bulkhead to my right split apart, and Tarrypin—his shell bundled in chains—was marched out.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
"Bee" is one of the very few remaining Stroma yoles – a small open-decked boat with a planked hull - that once served the now abandoned island off the northern mainland.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025
I planked on the lake shore and did box jumps onto the deck steps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2022
There are also dozens of variants — pickets, corrugated panels, berms, X-shaped steel barriers, even planked walls placed along Gulf Coast beaches.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2019
I’ve never planked or lunged, to my knowledge.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 16, 2018
In coffins for the not dead and not alive, in planked boxes, the metronomes waited to be set in motion.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
But wall squats and planking led to larger falls than aerobic exercise.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2023
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were painkilling and planking.
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2023
What they brought was a piece of brick that was likely part of the ship’s steam boiler, and planking from its hull.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2022
“Swift decisive action at that point was the difference between planking the curve and a runaway epidemic,” Hayhoe said.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 21, 2020
The wooden bridge was nearly three-quarters of a mile across, and the river, that usually ran in narrow channels in the wide stony bed far below the bridge, was close under the wooden planking.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
