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Definition of bank


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bank 1  audio  (bngk) KEY  

NOUN:
  1. A piled-up mass, as of snow or clouds. See Synonyms at heap.
  2. A steep natural incline.
  3. An artificial embankment.
  4. The slope of land adjoining a body of water, especially adjoining a river, lake, or channel. Often used in the plural.
  5. A large elevated area of a sea floor. Often used in the plural.
  6. Games The cushion of a billiard or pool table.
  7. The lateral inward tilting, as of a motor vehicle or an aircraft, in turning or negotiating a curve.
VERB:
banked , bank·ing , banks
VERB:
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.
    1. To tilt (an aircraft) laterally and inwardly in flight.
    2. To tilt (a motor vehicle) laterally and inwardly when negotiating a curve.
  5. Games To strike (a billiard ball) so that it rebounds from the cushion of the table.
  6. 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.
VERB:
intr.
  1. To rise in or take the form of a bank.
  2. To tilt an aircraft or a motor vehicle laterally when turning.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, of Scandinavian origin


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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