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Entry 26 senses · 7 variants Webster, 1913

Bank

/(băṉk)/ · IPA /ˈbæŋk/
01 n. A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a bank of …
  1. 1.
    A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a bank of clouds; a bank of snow.
    “They cast up a bank against the city.” — 2 Sam. xx. 15.
  2. 2.
    A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine.
  3. 3.
    The margin of a watercourse; the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea, or forming the edge of a cutting, or other hollow.
    “Tiber trembled underneath her banks.” — Shak.
  4. 4.
    An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or shallow; as, the banks of Newfoundland.
  5. 5.
    The face of the coal at which miners are working.(Mining)
  6. 6.
    The lateral inclination of an aëroplane as it rounds a curve; as, a bank of 45° is easy; a bank of 90° is dangerous.(Aëronautics)
  7. 7.
    A group or series of objects arranged near together; as, a bank of electric lamps, etc.
  8. 8.
    The tilt of a roadway or railroad, at a curve in the road, designed to counteract centrifugal forces acting on vehicles moving rapiudly around the curve, thus reducing the danger of overturning during a turn.
Phrases & compounds
Bank beaver — the otter.
Bank swallow — a small American and European swallow (Clivicola riparia) that nests in a hole which it excavates in a bank.
02 v. t. To raise a mound or dike about; to inclose, defend, or fortify with a bank; to embank.
imp. & p. p. Banked; p. pr. & vb. n. Banking
  1. 1.
    To raise a mound or dike about; to inclose, defend, or fortify with a bank; to embank.
  2. 2.
    To heap or pile up; as, to bank sand.
  3. 3.
    To pass by the banks of.[Obs.]
  4. 4.
    To build (a roadway or railroad) with an inclination at a curve in the road, so as to counteract centrifugal forces acting on vehicles moving rapiudly around the curve, thus reducing the danger of vehicles overturning at a curve; as, the raceway was steeply banked at the curves.(Engineering)
Phrases & compounds
To bank a fire — to cover the coals or embers with ashes or cinders, thus keeping the fire low but alive.
03 n. A bench, as for rowers in a galley; also, a tier of oars.
  1. 1.
    A bench, as for rowers in a galley; also, a tier of oars.
    “Placed on their banks, the lusty Trojan sweep Neptune's smooth face, and cleave the yielding deep.” — Waller.
  2. 2.
    The bench or seat upon which the judges sit.(Law)
  3. 3.
    A sort of table used by printers.(Printing)
  4. 4.
    A bench, or row of keys belonging to a keyboard, as in an organ.(Music)
04 n. An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue, of money, and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or bills of …
  1. 1.
    An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue, of money, and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or bills of exchange; an institution incorporated for performing one or more of such functions, or the stockholders (or their representatives, the directors), acting in their corporate capacity.
  2. 2.
    The building or office used for banking purposes.
  3. 3.
    A fund to be used in transacting business, especially a joint stock or capital.
    “Let it be no bank or common stock, but every man be master of his own money.” — Bacon.
  4. 4.
    The sum of money or the checks which the dealer or banker has as a fund, from which to draw his stakes and pay his losses.(Gaming)
  5. 5.
    In certain games, as dominos, a fund of pieces from which the players are allowed to draw; in Monopoly, the fund of money used to pay bonuses due to the players, or to which they pay fines.
  6. 6.
    a place where something is stored and held available for future use;
Phrases & compounds
Bank credit — a credit by which a person who has given the required security to a bank has liberty to draw to a certain extent agreed upon.
Bank of deposit — a bank which receives money for safe keeping.
Bank of issue — a bank which issues its own notes payable to bearer.
05 v. t. To deposit in a bank.
  1. 1.
    To deposit in a bank.
06 v. i. To keep a bank; to carry on the business of a banker.
  1. 1.
    To keep a bank; to carry on the business of a banker.
  2. 2.
    To deposit money in a bank; to have an account with a banker.
07 v. i. To tilt sidewise in rounding a curve; -- said of a flying machine, an aërocurve, or the like.
  1. 1.
    To tilt sidewise in rounding a curve; -- said of a flying machine, an aërocurve, or the like.(Aëronautics)