Meaning of bank in English

1. Pronunciation

   /bæŋk/

   US accent

   How to pronounce bank in American English, in context ▾
   Use the controls below to browse different examples of pronunciation.

   UK accent

   How to pronounce bank in British English, in context ▾
   Use the controls below to browse different examples of pronunciation.

1. Verb

   bank

   Definitions

   1. tip laterally

   Examples

   • « the pilot had to bank the aircraft »
2. 2. enclose with a bank

   Examples

   • « bank roads »
3. 3. do business with a bank or keep an account at a bank

   Examples

   • « Where do you bank in this town? »
4. 4. act as the banker in a game or in gambling
5. 5. be in the banking business
6. 6. put into a bank account

   Examples

   • « She deposites her paycheck every month »

   Antonyms

   • withdraw
   • draw
   • take out
   • draw off
7. 7. cover with ashes so to control the rate of burning

   Examples

   • « bank a fire »
8. 8. have confidence or faith in

   Examples

   • « We can trust in God »
   • « Rely on your friends »
   • « bank on your good education »
   • « I swear by my grandmother's recipes »

   Antonyms

   • distrust
   • mistrust
   • suspect
   • distrust
   • mistrust
   • suspect

9. Noun

   bank

   Etymology

   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

   Definitions

   1. a financial institution that accepts deposits and channels the money into lending activities

   Examples

   • « he cashed a check at the bank »
   • « that bank holds the mortgage on my home »
10. 2. sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)

    Examples

    • « they pulled the canoe up on the bank »
    • « he sat on the bank of the river and watched the currents »
11. 3. a supply or stock held in reserve for future use (especially in emergencies)
12. 4. a building in which commercial banking is transacted

    Examples

    • « the bank is on the corner of Nassau and Witherspoon »
13. 5. an arrangement of similar objects in a row or in tiers

    Examples

    • « he operated a bank of switches »
14. 6. a container (usually with a slot in the top) for keeping money at home

    Examples

    • « the coin bank was empty »
15. 7. a long ridge or pile

    Examples

    • « a huge bank of earth »
16. 8. the funds held by a gambling house or the dealer in some gambling games

    Examples

    • « he tried to break the bank at Monte Carlo »
17. 9. a slope in the turn of a road or track

    Examples

    • « the outside is higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force »
18. 10. a flight maneuver

    Examples

    • « aircraft tips laterally about its longitudinal axis (especially in turning) »
    • « the plane went into a steep bank »