I. ˈbaŋk, -aiŋk noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English banke, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse bakki ridge, bank; akin to Old English benc bench — more at bench
1. : a mound, pile, or ridge raised by natural processes or artificial means above the surrounding level:
a. now dialect England : elevation , hill
b. obsolete : earthwork
c. : something piled or accumulated in the form of a mound and often having a broad or long base and flat top
a bank of snow
specifically : a piled-up mass of cloud, fog or mist often extending upward from the horizon
d. : an underwater elevation of mud, gravel, or sand ; specifically : an undersea elevation rising especially from the continental shelf and usually with a broad flat top
the cod banks off Norway — Irwin Shaw
— compare reef , seamount , shoal
2.
a. : the margin of a watercourse : the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea or forming the edge of a cut or other hollow
b. obsolete : seacoast
3.
a. : a steep acclivity (as the side of a hill, pile, or mound) : grade , slope
b. : the lateral inward tilt of a vehicle or other moving object when taking a curve
the bomber crossed the target area in a sharp bank
: the lateral inward tip of a surface (as a road or track) along a curve
the engineers hadn't given the road enough bank
4. : a protective or cushioning rim or piece: as
a.
(1) : the slightly elevated ground surrounding a bowling green on the outer side of the ditch
(2) : cushion 3e
b. : a ramp of earth (as that leading to the upper story of some bank barns)
c. : banking pin
5.
a. Britain : the place in a bog where peat is dug
b.
(1) : the face of coal being worked
(2) : a deposit of ore or coal worked by excavations above water level
(3) : the ground at the top of a shaft
the cost of an ore on the bank
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to raise a bank about : enclose, protect, or fortify with a bank : embank: as
a. : to cover (as a fire) with fresh fuel or other material, usually adjusting the draft to slow the rate of burning and maintain fire for a prolonged period — often used with up
b. : to heap earth along the row of (a growing crop, as of celery) to protect or blanch : hill , earth
c. : to build (a railway curve) with the outer rail elevated above the inner rail or to build (a curve in a road or track) with the roadbed or track inclined laterally upward from the inside edge to the outside edge so as to prevent a fast-moving vehicle or runner from being carried off the track or toppled over by centrifugal force in rounding the curve
it is necessary to bank the curves very steeply for bobsled racing
2. obsolete : to pass by the banks of skirt
3. : to heap (as sand) or pile (as logs) in a bank
lumberjacks … banked the cut timber on rollways to await the spring drives — American Guide Series: Michigan
— often used with up
there is banked up a great mass of purchasing power — Clement Atlee
4.
a. : to drive (the cue ball in billiards) into a cushion before striking an object ball
b.
(1) : to drive (an object ball in pool) into a cushion in an attempt to pocket or to place advantageously on the rebound
(2) : to drive (a cue ball in pool) into a cushion to hit an object ball on the rebound or to play a safe shot
5. : to form or group in a tier
bank electric lights
intransitive verb
1. : to rise in or form a bank : lie in banks (as of clouds) — often used with up
in the rainy season the clouds would bank up about midday, and showers fall with true tropical violence — William Beebe
2. : to swing so far as to strike against a banking pin — used of the lever of a lever escapement in a watch or clock
3. : to fish on the banks of Newfoundland
4.
a.
(1) : to incline an airplane laterally
(2) of an airplane : to incline laterally
torpedo planes … darting in to attack, then banking off — K.M.Dodson
b. : to execute a movement like that of an airplane banking
comets … appear without warning, race in through the planets, bank sharply around the sun, then head out toward the stars — A.C.Clarke
— used especially of birds in flight and fishes swimming
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English banck, from Old French banc, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German bank bench — more at bench
1.
a. obsolete : the bench or seat on which the judges of a court of law sit
b. : a bench upon which the rowers of a galley sit
2. : a group or series of objects arranged near together in a row or a tier: as
a. : a tier of oars especially of an ancient galley
b. : a tier of keys belonging to a keyboard
c. : a set of two or more elevators
eighteen passenger elevators, in three banks of six — New Yorker
3.
a. archaic : a table for holding unprinted and printed sheets
b. : a slant-topped stand or sometimes a flat-topped table on which type matter in galleys is corrected and prepared for makeup
4. : one of the horizontal divisions of a headline ; especially : a secondary or lower division — compare deck I 6
5. : the backboard to which a basketball hoop is attached
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- in bank
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Old Italian; Middle French banque, from Old Italian banca, literally, bench, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German bank bench
1.
a.
(1) obsolete : the table, counter, or place of business of a money-changer
(2) : an establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, for the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or bills of exchange ; also : an institution incorporated for performing one or more of such functions
b. : gambling house
2.
a. : the stockholders or directors of a bank acting in their corporate capacity
b. : a person or persons conducting a gambling house or game ; specifically : dealer
3. : a supply of something useful or valuable held in reserve: as
a.
(1) obsolete : a sum of money
(2) : the sum of money in certain gambling games (as chemin de fer) that is deposited or stated by the dealer as a fund from which to pay his losses
b.
(1) : the whole supply of chips available for purchase and use by players in a game played with chips (as poker)
(2) : a fund of pieces belonging to a game (as dominoes) from which the players are allowed to draw
c. : an excess of logs cut or skidded during a given period and held as a reserve to make up deficiencies in daily quotas
4. : a place where something useful or valuable is held available: as
a. : landing 2b
b. : a small container for holding coins to be accumulated as savings or for a special purpose — see piggy bank
c. : a depot for the collection and storage of a biological product of human origin for medical use
a semen bank
a nerve bank
bone bank
•
- in the bank
V. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to keep a bank
b. : to carry out the business of banking
2.
a. : to deposit money in a bank
a trip into town to shop and bank
b. : to have an account with a bank or banker
the company banks at the First National
transitive verb
1. : to deposit in a bank
bank your salary
2. : to deposit (as blood, plasma, bone) for storage in a bank (sense 4c)
whole blood … could be banked indefinitely — Time
3. : to act as banker for (as a gambling game)
4. : finance
members who help bank political campaigns — New Republic
Synonyms: see rely
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- bank on