plank

[plangk]

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.

plank

¹

/ 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

/ plæŋk /

verb

1. (tr) to hide; cache

Other Word Forms

• plankless adjective
• planklike adjective
• unplanked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plank¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of plank¹

C13: from Old Norman French planke, from Late Latin planca board, from plancus flat-footed; probably related to Greek plax flat surface

Origin of plank²

C19: a variant of plant

Idioms and Phrases

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.

see walk the plank.

Example Sentences

It is the first plank in a newly structured, high-level dialogue, intended to lock in a full year of leader-led diplomacy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He said there were sometimes chairs, cardboard boxes or wooden planks serving as tables, and that children would write on salvaged slates or plastic boards.

Read more on Barron's

The scam centres have emerged as a key plank in the wartime economy of Myanmar, where the military has been fighting an array of rebel groups since seizing power.

Read more on Barron's

"Michael had built this stage out of milk crates with planks of wood on top. If you stood on the wrong spot the planks would go up."

Read more on BBC

A big increase in China tariffs, meanwhile, could stoke inflation pressures and challenge the market’s assumptions on Federal Reserve rate cuts, a key plank in the market’s bullish outlook.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• lumber 
• platform 
• slab 
• timber