bank1
/baŋk
/noun
1The land alongside or sloping down to a river or lake: willows lined the bank of the stream...
- These figures for the most part do not include freshwater wetlands along the shores of lakes, banks of rivers, in estuaries and along the marine coasts.
- Lighting effects have been put up in trees and rafts lie alongside the banks of the lake suggesting that fireworks could be launched from the water's surface.
- Ahead of me a row of pollarded willows lines the bank of the stream, beyond which the ground slopes gently upwards towards leafless woodland, appearing sombre grey.
Synonyms
edge, side, embankment, levee, border, verge, boundary, margin, rim, fringe, fringes, flank, brink, perimeter, circumference, extremity, periphery, limit, outer limit, limits, bound, bounds
literary marge, bourn, skirt
2A long, high mass or mound of a particular substance: a grassy bank a bank of snow...
- The shop occupies a prominent and elevated position on a grassy bank next to the Market Cross.
- As we begin our descent I am able to catch a glimpse of a magnificent peak penetrating the cloud bank near Portland.
- Hedgerows with grassy banks can shelter primroses, orchids and other wildflowers.
Synonyms
slope, rise, incline, gradient, ramp, acclivity;
mound, ridge, hillock, hummock, knoll, hump, barrow, tumulus, earthwork, parados, berm;
elevation, eminence, prominence;
bar, reef, shoal, shelf;
accumulation, pile, heap, mass, drift
British dialect tump
2.1An elevation in the seabed or a riverbed; a mudbank or sandbank.It is a great sight, with ant-like streams pouring across long pontoons over the river's shallow sandy banks to innumerable craft moored midstream....
- This is definitely so for small juvenile fish, but the bigger adults prefer a mix of clean and broken ground, often seeking out gravel banks and sandbanks adjacent to much rougher ground.
- At the mouth the shallow banks of the creek slanted sharply down around a large, flat boulder protruding from the lake, creating a miniature canyon of mud.
2.2A transverse slope given to a road, railway, or sports track to enable vehicles or runners to maintain speed round a curve.Sometimes, as we rode the bank of a curve, the wheels became slightly airborne, momentarily escaping the pull of gravity....
- So we need a good baseline setup for a great car for the weekend because it is a pretty flat track, and the bank doesn't help the car turn.
- I learned firsthand how these Olympic competitors use the steep banks to reach top speed.
2.3 [mass noun] The sideways tilt of an aircraft when turning in flight: a rather steep angle of bank...
- Back-stick pressure must also be released as bank decreases or the aircraft will climb.
- He indicated that the angle of bank decreased periodically, but that the aircraft was always in a right wing-low attitude.
- As we cruise by the water bird colony at 300 feet, I roll the aircraft into a rather steep angle of bank.
3A set of similar things, especially electrical or electronic devices, grouped together in rows: the DJ had big banks of lights and speakers on either side of his console...
- Check for sources of electromagnetic interference such as banks of modems on web servers.
- It consisted of a bank of electronic tone generators and an associated array of processing devices that regulated the nature of the sounds.
- In that grey box you see by the railroad crossing lights there is a bank of batteries.
Synonyms
array, row, line, tier, group, series;
panel, console, board
3.1A tier of oars: the early ships had only twenty-five oars in each bank...
- The starboard banks of oars dipped hard into the water, and the trading ship swung abruptly to the left and slowly glided to the dock.
- The standard galley or galere ordinaire, had twenty-six banks of oars per side, with five men at each oar.
- If there were 100 oars per bank, that would have required 15000 oarsmen.
4The cushion of a pool table: [as modifier]: a bank shot...
- I can only stop the cue ball and take a chance on the bank shot.
- His surprise victory was completed with a well-taken length of the table bank shot on the 8 ball.
- I have been known to go to my bank shots when I am not seeing the cut shots.
verb [with object]
1Heap (a substance) into a mass or mound: the rain banked the soil up behind the gate snow was banked in humps at the roadside...
- In places, snow was banked up more than 3m either side of the road.
- The muck was banked up so high in places that we couldnt rescue some of the horses until the doors had been removed from their hinges.
- In Europe, particularly France, Germany, and Belgium, they cultivate a white asparagus by gradually banking the soil over the shoots as they grow.
Synonyms
pile (up), heap (up), stack (up), make a pile of, make a heap of, make a stack of;
accumulate, amass, assemble, put together
1.1 [no object] Form into a mass or mound: purple clouds banked up over the hills...
- When the traffic banked up and a driver braked, car wheels could get hooked up in the ruts.
- He said there had been several instances where traffic had banked up after objects were placed on the city's train tracks.
- The cottage was quiet, almost buried in the drifts banked up against the walls.
1.2Heap up (a fire) with tightly packed fuel so that it burns slowly: she banked up the fire...
- Back in my room, I banked up the fire until I had a roaring blaze going.
- They'd stoked and banked the fire for the night, drawn the purple drapes, and put a hot bedpan in between her sheets to warm it ready for her.
- Greg, who was the only one who knew how to do it properly, had been banking the fire every night so they would have embers to start the morning's fire with.
Synonyms
damp (down), smother, stifle
1.3Edge or surround with a ridge or row of something: steps banked with pots of chrysanthemums...
- In summer, umbrella-topped tables line a terrace banked with flowers, creating a romantic spot for dinner under the stars.
- This addition can be as simple as a wall spigot dripping musically into a trough banked with pots of bright flowers.
- ‘Let's have a seat shall we,’ the two walked over to some chairs that were banked along the wall and sat down.
2(With reference to an aircraft or vehicle) tilt or cause to tilt sideways in making a turn: [no object]: the plane banked as if to return to the airport [with object]: I banked the aircraft steeply and turned...
- Everyone was soon out and with a nod, a very cool nod, the pilot banked the aircraft sideways and downwards away from the wall and roared off up the gorge.
- As the aircraft continued to bank to about 80 deg, ground contact became more positive and the left wing started to buckle.
- Afraid the soldiers had seen the package, Ian ducked down instinctively, but the aircraft banked steeply and slid down into the valley.
Synonyms
tilt, lean, tip, slant, incline, angle, slope, list, camber, pitch, dip, cant, put/be at an angle
3Build (a road, railway, or sports track) higher at the outer edge of a bend to facilitate fast cornering: the track was banked to allow a train to take curves faster while maintaining passenger comfort...
- Since the tracks are banked, the advantage usually goes to the driver on the inside - the outside car is more vulnerable.
- It really all depends on what you're wanting to do and how banked the track is.
- It cost £3.5m to build and adjoins the Sportcity indoor facility which boasts a four-lane, banked 200m track.
4 (often as noun banking) British (Of a locomotive) provide additional power for (a train) in ascending an incline.Mr Elson said because banking locomotives were put on at Tebay to get the trains up the hill, and were taken off at Askrigg Bank, the two layouts made a fascinating pair to display together....
- A banking locomotive was often used to assist trains up particularly steep or long banks, or gradients.
- The train would have stopped in the adjacent Victoria station to collect a banking locomotive to assist up the stiff climb to Miles Platting.
5(Of an angler) succeed in landing (a fish): it was the biggest rainbow trout that had ever been banked...
- This is about as close to the weir as you can bank fish.
- Several roach over that magical 2lb barrier have been banked recently with anglers prepared to sit it out on bread flake being rewarded with the better fish.
- Yes, this is pike heaven all right and it won't be long before one day somebody banks that magical sixty-pound fish.
6North American (In pool) play (a ball) so that it rebounds off a surface such as a cushion: I banked the eight ball off two cushions...
- I've reverse banked many an eight ball to give my opponent a ‘hopeless’ feeling.
- You can shoot the safe by banking the 7-ball to the center of the rail, but the better choice is not to let your opponent shoot at all.
- He banks the seven just to show off.
Origin
Middle English: from Old Norse bakki, of Germanic origin; related to bench. The senses 'set of things in rows' and 'tier of oars' are from French banc, of the same ultimate origin.
The very different uses of bank are all ultimately related. The bank beside a river was adopted from a Scandinavian word in the early Middle Ages, and is related to bench (Old English). The earliest use of the bank for a financial institution referred to a money-dealer's counter or table. This came from French or Italian in the late 15th century, but goes back to the same root as the river bank. A bank of oars or of lights represents yet another related form. It came into English in the early Middle Ages from French, and originally meant a bench or a platform to speak from. The bench or platform sense is also found in mountebank (late 16th century) for a charlatan, which comes from Italian monta in banco ‘climb on the bench’ referring to the way they attract a crowd, while a bankrupt (mid 16th century), originally a bankrout takes us back to the ‘counter’ sense. It is from Italian banca rotta, which really means ‘a broken bench’, referring to the breaking up of the traders business at the counter. The word was altered early on in its history in English, through association with Latin ruptus ‘broken’. Yet another word from the same source is banquet (Late Middle English) which comes from the French for ‘little bench’ and was originally a snack rather than a lavish meal.
Rhymes
bank2
/baŋk/noun
1A financial establishment that uses money deposited by customers for investment, pays it out when required, makes loans at interest, and exchanges currency: [as modifier]: a bank account...
- That begs the question as to whether our money would be safer under the mattress or in a bank deposit account than invested in shares, unit trusts or pension schemes.
- We've regularly - almost religiously - deposited money into our bank savings account.
- My current bank deposit account interest rate has just been cut again.
Synonyms
financial institution;
commercial bank, merchant bank, savings bank, finance company, finance house, lender, mortgagee;
British high-street bank, clearing bank, building society;
North American savings and loan (association), thrift
1.1A stock of something available for use when required: a blood bank figurative Britain has a bank of highly exportable skills...
- There is a bank of volunteer drivers available although many groups prefer to use their own.
- The organization now has an image bank of stock images that clients can view and contact the photographers.
- That is a good idea, and Work and Income is ensuring that its job bank is available across the country and provides a wider range of information.
Synonyms
store, reserve, accumulation, stock, stockpile, inventory, supply, pool, fund, cache, hoard, deposit;
storehouse, reservoir, repository, depository
rare amassment
1.2A site or receptacle where something may be deposited for recycling: a paper bank...
- Christmas cards should not be put in recycling boxes or paper banks.
- People can dispose of it in a paper bank or household recycling centres.
- To find out more, or for details of your nearest bottle or paper banks, contact the city council's special recycling helpline on 01904 636000.
1.3 (the bank) The store of money or tokens held by the banker in some gambling or board games.If everyone has played and there is money in the bank, the banker deals a new hand in the opposite direction from the hand that has just ended....
- The bank can also change hands after any hand if the existing banker wishes to sell the bank to another player at a mutually agreed price.
1.4The person holding the bank in some gambling or board games; the banker.Here the bank would take half the money that had been staked on the paired cards....
- Additionally, you can only be the banker for one hand, after which the bank reverts to the dealer for the next hand.
- Agreed, Mark, they do charge a five percent commission when you bet the bank hand in baccarat, but only when you win.
verb
1 [with object] Deposit (money or valuables) in a bank: she may have banked a cheque in the wrong account...
- You filled in various documents of a minor nature, banked money and signed cheques.
- The only problem is, normal economic dealings use high-powered supercomputers and economic analysts to make sure that the money is banked correctly.
- Rather we mean those who spend the morning banking their dividend cheques and the afternoon at the gym, on the tennis court or at the club.
Synonyms
deposit, pay in;
clear;
save, save up, keep, keep in reserve, lay by, put aside, set aside, put by, put by for a rainy day, hoard, cache, garner
informal stash (away), salt away, squirrel away
have an account at, deposit one's money with, use, be a customer of, deal with, do business with
1.1 [no object] Have an account at a particular bank: the family has banked with Coutts for generations...
- Mr Gibson also checked Bryant family accounts at Lismore after I mentioned that my father banked with the ANZ.
- We regret very deeply the anxiety it will cause a large number of patients who have banked with us.
- Lance Armstrong has the friendship of the President of the United States, an adoring, bright-eyed family and millions banked with Chase Manhattan.
1.2 informal Win or earn (a sum of money): he banked £100,000 for a hole-in-one...
- A candidate who can bank those sums is not only a threat to win, but a threat to disrupt the rules by which campaigns are run, paid for, and won.
- They moved to Nevada, built a beautiful new dream home, which they paid off completely, and still banked a hefty sum after taxes.
- Nigel thankfully revealed a year later that had he cooled his affair with Baltimore and had banked some ‘significant gains’.
1.3Store (something, especially blood, tissue, or sperm) for future use: the sperm is banked or held in storage for the following spring...
- Trevor, 42, an engineer, banked the sperm in 1979, at the age of 17.
- It would also help men too ill to bank sperm before chemotherapy.
- Previously banked cord blood samples were identified for both patients, however were too small to be used.
Phrases
the Bank of Mum and Dad
break the bank
Phrasal verbs
bank on
Origin
Late 15th century (originally denoting a money dealer's table): from French banque or Italian banca, from medieval Latin banca, bancus, of Germanic origin; related to bank1 and bench.