[bank] n [ME, prob. of Scand origin; akin to ON bakki bank; akin to OE benc bench--more at bench] (13c) 1: a mound, pile, or ridge raised above the surrounding level: as a: a piled-up mass of cloud or fog b: an undersea elevation rising esp. from the continental shelf
2: the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea or forming the edge of a cut or hollow 3 a: a steep slope (as of a hill) b: the lateral inward tilt of a surface along a curve or of a vehicle (as an airplane) when taking a curve
4: a protective or cushioning rim or piece
[2]bank vt (1590) 1 a: to raise a bank about b: to cover (as a fire) with fresh fuel and adjust the draft of air so as to keep in an inactive state c: to build (a curve) with the roadbed or track inclined laterally upward from the inside edge
2: to heap or pile in a bank
3: to drive (a ball in billiards) into a cushion
4: to form or group in a tier ~ vi 1: to rise in or form a bank--often used with up "clouds would ~ up about midday, and showers fall --William Beebe"
2. a: to incline an airplane laterally b (1): to incline laterally (2): to follow a curve or incline "skiers ~ing around the turn" [3]bank n [ME, fr. MF or OIt; MF banque, fr. OIt banca, lit., bench, of Gmc origin; akin to OE benc] (15c) 1 a: an establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, for the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds b obs: the table, counter, or place of business of a money changer
2: a person conducting a gambling house or game; specif: dealer
3: a supply of something held in reserve: as a: the fund of supplies (as money, chips, or pieces) held by the banker or dealer for use in a game b: a fund of pieces belonging to a game (as dominoes) from which the players draw
4: a place where something is held available "memory ~"; esp: a depot for the collection and storage of a biological product of human origin for medical use "blood ~" [4]bank vi (ca. 1751) 1: to manage a bank
2: to deposit money or have an account in a bank ~ vt: to deposit in a bank -- bank on : to depend or rely on [5]bank n [ME banc bench, fr. OF, of Gmc origin; akin to OE benc] (1614) 1: a group or series of objects arranged together in a row or a tier: as a: a set of elevators b: a row or tier of telephones
2: one of the horizontal and usu. secondary or lower divisions of a headline