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View synonyms for plank

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.

plank

1

/ plæŋk /

verb

  1. tr to hide; cache
“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

plank

2

/ 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. walk the plank
    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
“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

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
“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
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Other Words From

  • plankless adjective
  • planklike adjective
  • un·planked adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of plank1

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

Origin of plank1

C19: a variant of plant

Origin of plank2

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

More idioms and phrases containing plank

see walk the plank .
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Example Sentences

Unfolding on a set of distressed wooden planks and hanging lanterns, “Our Town” gleams like a restored antique in this Broadway revival.

This plank of his platform has held for years as the president-elect has campaigned across the country.

From Salon

They have generally formed a key plank of the Democratic coalition but Republicans have been eating into that support.

From BBC

I trained two or three times a week — nothing crazy, just good old fashioned bicep curls, weighted squats, plank holds.

A key plank of the case against him was based on data from the Horizon system and how it was interpreted by the Post Office.

From BBC

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Related Words

Definitions 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.

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