What does "bank" mean?
Bank: 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.
Additional senses
- 2.2. A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine.
- 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.An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or shallow; as, the banks of Newfoundland.
- 5.(Mining) (a) The face of the coal at which miners are working. (b) A deposit of ore or coal, worked by excavations above water level. (c) The ground at the top of a shaft; as, ores are brought to bank. Bank beaver (Zoöl.), the otter. [Local, U.S.] -- Bank swallow, a small American and European swallow (Clivicola riparia) that nests in a hole which it excavates in a bank.
- 6.To raise a mound or dike about; to inclose, defend, or fortify with a bank; to embank. "Banked well with earth." Holland.
- 7.To heap or pile up; as, to bank sand.
- 8.To pass by the banks of. [Obs.] Shak. To bank a fire, To bank up a fire, to cover the coals or embers with ashes or cinders, thus keeping the fire low but alive.
- 9.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.
- 10.(Law) (a) The bench or seat upon which the judges sit. (b) The regular term of a court of law, or the full court sitting to hear arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at Nisi Prius, or a court held for jury trials. See Banc. Burrill.
- 11.(Printing) A sort of table used by printers.
- 12.(Music) A bench, or row of keys belonging to a keyboard, as in an organ. Knight.
- 13.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.
- 14.The building or office used for banking purposes.
- 15.A fund from deposits or contributions, to be used in transacting business; a joint stock or capital. [Obs.] Let it be no bank or common stock, but every man be master of his own money. Bacon.
- 16.(Gaming) 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.
- 17.In certain games, as dominos, a fund of pieces from which the players are allowed to draw. Bank credit, a credit by which a person who has give -- Bank of deposit, a bank which receives money for safe keeping. -- Bank of issue, a bank which issues its own notes payable to bearer.
- 18.To deposit in a bank.
- 19.To keep a bank; to carry on the business of a banker.
- 20.To deposit money in a bank; to have an account with a banker.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00