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bank 1 (băngk)
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n.
1. A piled-up mass, as of snow or clouds; a heap: a bank of thunderclouds.
2. A steep natural incline.
3. An artificial embankment.
4. often banks
a. The slope of land adjoining a body of water, especially adjoining a river, lake, or channel.
b. A large elevated area of a sea floor.
5. Games The cushion of a billiard or pool table.
6. The lateral inward tilting, as of a motor vehicle or an aircraft, in turning or negotiating a curve.
v. banked, bank·ing, banks
v.tr.
1. To border or protect with a ridge or embankment.
2. To pile up; amass: banked earth along the wall.
3. To cover (a fire), as with ashes or fresh fuel, to ensure continued low burning.
4. To construct with a slope rising to the outside edge: The turns on the racetrack were steeply banked.
5.
a. To tilt (an aircraft) laterally and inwardly in flight.
b. To tilt (a motor vehicle) laterally and inwardly when negotiating a curve.
6. Games To strike (a billiard ball) so that it rebounds from the cushion of the table.
7. Sports To play (a ball or puck) in such a way as to make it glance off a surface, such as a backboard or wall.
v.intr.
1. To rise in or take the form of a bank.
2. To tilt an aircraft or a motor vehicle laterally when turning.
[Middle English, of Scandinavian origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
bank 2 (băngk)
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n.
1.
a. A business establishment in which money is kept for saving or commercial purposes or is invested, supplied for loans, or exchanged.
b. The offices or building in which such an establishment is located.
2. Games
a. The funds of a gambling establishment.
b. The funds held by a dealer or banker in certain games, especially gambling games.
c. The reserve pieces, cards, chips, or play money in some games, such as poker, from which the players may draw.
3.
a. A supply or stock for future or emergency use: a grain bank.
b. Medicine A supply of human fluids or tissues, such as blood, sperm, or skin, that is stored in a facility for future use.
4. A place of safekeeping or storage: a computer's memory bank.
v. banked, bank·ing, banks
v.tr.
1. To deposit in a bank.
2. To store for future use.
v.intr.
1. To transact business with a bank or maintain a bank account.
2. To operate a bank.
Phrasal Verb:
bank on
To have confidence in; rely on.
[Middle English banke, from French banque, from Old Italian banca, bench, moneychanger's table, from Old High German banc.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
bank 3 (băngk)
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n.
1. A set of similar or matched things arranged in a row, especially:
a. A set of elevators.
b. A row of keys on a keyboard.
2. Nautical
a. A bench for rowers in a galley.
b. A row of oars in a galley.
3. Printing The lines of type under a headline.
tr.v. banked, bank·ing, banks
To arrange or set up in a row: "Every street was banked with purple-blooming trees" (Doris Lessing).
[Middle English, bench, from Old French banc, from Late Latin bancus, of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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