bank: Meaning and Definition of
bank
Pronunciation: (bangk), [key]
— n.
- a long pile or heap; mass: a bank of earth; a bank of clouds.
- a slope or acclivity.
- the slope immediately bordering a stream course along which the water normally runs.
- a broad elevation of the sea floor around which the water is relatively shallow but not a hazard to surface navigation.
- the surface around the mouth of a shaft.
- Also calledthe inclination of the bed of a banked road or railroad.
- the lateral inclination of an aircraft, esp. during a turn.
- the cushion of the table.
—v.t.
- to border with or like a bank; embank: banking the river with sandbags at flood stage.
- to form into a bank or heap (usually fol. by up): to bank up the snow.
- to build (a road or railroad track) with an upward slope from the inner edge to the outer edge at a curve.
- to tip or incline (an airplane) laterally.
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- to drive (a ball) to the cushion.
- to pocket (the object ball) by driving it against the bank.
- to cover (a fire) with ashes or fuel to make it burn long and slowly.
—v.i.
- to build up in or form banks, as clouds or snow.
- to tip or incline an airplane laterally.
- (of a lever or balance) to be halted at either end of its oscillation by striking a pin or the like.
- (of a road or railroad track) to slope upward from the inner edge to the outer edge at a curve.
bank
Pronunciation: (bangk), [key]
— n.
- an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging, and safeguarding money and, in some cases, issuing notes and transacting other financial business.
- the office or quarters of such an institution.
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- the stock or fund of pieces from which the players draw.
- the fund of the manager or the dealer.
- a special storage place: a blood bank; a sperm bank.
- a store or reserve.
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- a sum of money, esp. as a fund for use in business.
- a moneychanger's table, counter, or shop.
—v.i.
- to keep money in or have an account with a bank: Do you bank at the Village Savings Bank?
- to exercise the functions of a bank or banker.
- to hold the bank.
—v.t.
- to deposit in a bank: to bank one's paycheck.
- to count on; depend on: You can bank on him to hand you a reasonable bill for his services.
bank
Pronunciation: (bangk), [key]
— n.
- an arrangement of objects in a line or in tiers: a bank of seats; a bank of lights.
- a row of keys on an organ.
- a row of elevator cars, as in a hotel or high-rise office building.
- a bench for rowers in a galley.
- a row or tier of oars.
- the group of rowers occupying one bench or rowing one oar.
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- (formerly) a bench on which sheets are placed as printed.
- Also called,esp. Brit.,random.the sloping work surface at the top of a compositor's workbench.
- a table or rack on which type material is stored before being made up in forms.
- Also calleda part of a headline containing one or more lines of type, esp. a part that appears below the main part.
- a number of similar devices connected to act together: a bank of transformers; a bank of resistors.
—v.t.
- to arrange in a bank: to bank the seats; to bank the lights.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.