Dictionary.com

plank

[ plangk ]
/ plæŋk /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: plank / planked / planking / planks on Thesaurus.com

noun
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)
QUIZ
ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ
There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!
Question 1 of 7
True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

Idioms about plank

    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.

Origin of plank

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

OTHER WORDS FROM plank

plankless, adjectiveplanklike, adjectiveun·planked, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use plank in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plank (1 of 2)

plank1
/ (plæŋk) /

noun
verb (tr)

Word Origin for plank

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

British Dictionary definitions for plank (2 of 2)

plank2
/ (plæŋk) /

verb
(tr) Scot to hide; cache

Word Origin for plank

C19: a variant of plant
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with plank

plank

see walk the plank.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
FEEDBACK