English Dictionary
Definition of “bank”
1bank1 (bæŋk
)
Definitions
noun
- an institution offering certain financial services, such as the safekeeping of money, conversion of domestic into and from foreign currencies, lending of money at interest, and acceptance of bills of exchange
- the building used by such an institution
- a small container used at home for keeping money
- the funds held by a gaming house or a banker or dealer in some gambling games
- (in various games)
- the stock, as of money, pieces, tokens, etc, on which players may draw
- the player holding this stock
- any supply, store, or reserve, for future use ⇒
a data bank
a blood bank
verb
- (tr) to deposit (cash, cheques, etc) in a bank
- (intr) to transact business with a bank
- (intr) to engage in the business of banking
- (intr) to hold the bank in some gambling games
Word Origin
C15: probably from Italian banca bench, moneychanger's table, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German bancbench
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
store,
fund,
stock,
source,
supply,
reserve,
pool,
reservoir,
accumulation,
stockpile,
hoard,
storehouse,
2bank2 (bæŋk)
Definitions
noun
- a long raised mass, esp of earth; mound; ridge
- a slope, as of a hill
- the sloping side of any hollow in the ground, esp when bordering a river ⇒
the left bank of a river is on a spectator's left looking downstream
- an elevated section, rising to near the surface, of the bed of a sea, lake, or river
- ((in combination) ⇒
sandbank
mudbank
- the area around the mouth of the shaft of a mine
- the face of a body of ore
- the lateral inclination of an aircraft about its longitudinal axis during a turn
- Also called bankingcambercantsuperelevationa bend on a road or on a railway, athletics, cycling, or other track having the outside built higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force on vehicles, runners, etc, rounding it at speed and in some cases to facilitate drainage
- the cushion of a billiard table
verb
- when tr, often foll by up to form into a bank or mound
- (tr) to border or enclose (a road, etc) with a bank
- (tr,) sometimes foll by up to cover (a fire) with ashes, fresh fuel, etc, so that it will burn slowly
- to cause (an aircraft) to tip laterally about its longitudinal axis or (of an aircraft) to tip in this way, esp while turning
- to travel round a bank, esp at high speed
- (tr) billiards to drive (a ball) into the cushion
Word Origin
C12: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Icelandic bakki hill, Old Danish banke , Swedish backe
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
mound,
banking,
rise,
hill,
mass,
pile,
heap,
ridge,
dune,
embankment,
knoll,
hillock,
kopje or koppie
3bank3 (bæŋk)
Definitions
noun
- an arrangement of objects, esp similar objects, in a row or in tiers ⇒
a bank of dials
- a tier of oars in a galley
- a bench for the rowers in a galley
- a grade of lightweight writing and printing paper used for airmail letters, etc
- telephony (in automatic switching) an assembly of fixed electrical contacts forming a rigid unit in a selector or similar device
verb
- (tr) to arrange in a bank
Word Origin
C17: from Old French banc bench, of Germanic origin; see bankC17: from Old French bench, of Germanic origin; see 1
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
row,
group,
line,
train,
range,
series,
file,
rank,
arrangement,
sequence,
succession,
array,
tier,
Translations
- British English:
bank
A bank is the ground beside a river.We walked along the bank.bæŋk NOUN We walked along the bank.
- Spanish:
terraplén
nm
- French:
rive
nf
- German:
Erdwall
nm
- Chinese: 堤岸 n
- Arabic: ضِفَّة n
- Portuguese: colina nf
- Russian: насыпь nf
- Croatian: sprud nf
- Czech: břeh nm
- Danish: banke nutr
- Dutch: oever nm
- Finnish: penger n
- Greek: ύψωμα nnt
- Italian: argine nm
- Japanese: 土手 n
- Korean: 둑 n
- Norwegian: kant nm
- Polish: brzeg nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: margem nf
- European Spanish:
terraplén
nm
- Swedish: bank nutr
- Thai: ตลิ่ง n
- Turkish: ırmak kıyısı n
- Vietnamese: bờ n
- British English:
bank
A bank is a place where people can keep their money.He got some money from the bank.bæŋk NOUN He got some money from the bank.
- Spanish:
banco
nm
- French:
banque
nf
- German:
Bank
nf
- Chinese: 银行 n
- Arabic: بَنْك n
- Portuguese: banco nm
- Russian: банк nm
- Croatian: banka nf
- Czech: banka nf
- Danish: bank nutr
- Dutch: bank n
- Finnish: pankki n
- Greek: τράπεζα nf
- Italian: banca nf
- Japanese: 銀行 n
- Korean: 은행 n
- Norwegian: bank nm
- Polish: bank nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: banco nm
- European Spanish:
banco
nm
- Swedish: bank nutr
- Thai: ธนาคาร n
- Turkish: banka n
- Vietnamese: ngân hàng n
Usage examples
Once they see our new projections the bank will give us a break.
Stuart Harrison, BETTER THAN THIS (2002)In the early evening, I returned to Charette and explored on foot westward along the crumbling bank of the Doubs.
Country Life (2005)Mr Soden's hope would be that an enlarged Irish bank would be "more indigestible" for a foreign predator.
Irish Times (2002)Not yet would my sister's fingers be rifling through my bank balance.
Glasgow Herald (2001)There were archers to left and right of him, all scrambling up the bank to the palisade.
Bernard Cornwell, VAGABOND (2002)
