Meaning of bank in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /bæŋk/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  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? »

    Derived terms

  4. 4. act as the banker in a game or in gambling
  5. 5. be in the banking business

    Derived terms

  6. 6. put into a bank account

    Examples

    • « She deposites her paycheck every month »

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

  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

    Derived terms

  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 »

    Derived terms

  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 »

    Derived terms

  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 »

    Derived terms

  18. 10. a flight maneuver

    Examples

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

Famous quotes

  • « The one thing that offends me the most is when I walk by a bank and see ads trying to convince people to take out second mortgages on their home so they can go on vacation. That's approaching evil. »
    Jeff Bezos
  • « The impetus behind going to graduate school was a year after graduating from college spent in Dallas working at the dog food factory and Bank America and not having met success in my chosen field, which at that point was being an actress. »
    Beth Henley
  • « If I finance a bank and I know if the bank will get in trouble, I will be hit and I will lose money, I will put a price on that. »
    Jeroen Dijsselbloem
  • « I don't practice, but I am still officially in paediatrics. I keep in touch with journals, and I have a very good data bank of medical information and there is a key thing for a writer knowing where to go. I know where to go to get the information that I need. »
    Jonathan Kellerman
  • « If bad things are going to be said about me, I have to bear that. If I don't understand that it's part of being in show business, then I'd better go work in a bank. »
    Antonio Banderas

Browse dictionary