Search results for 'bank':

bank¹ noun 1 a financial organization which keeps money in accounts for its clients, lends money, exchanges currency, etc. 2 a box in which money can be saved, especially by children. See also piggy bank. 3 a place where something is stored or collected for later use. Also in compounds • blood bank • databank. 4 in some games: a stock of money controlled by one of the players (the banker¹). verb (banked, banking) 1 to put (money) into a bank. 2 intrans to have a bank account • They bank with Lloyds. break the bank in gambling: to win from eg a casino the sum of money fixed as the limit it is willing to lose in any one day.
ETYMOLOGY: 15c, meaning 'a moneylender's shop': from French banque.

bank² noun 1 the side or slope of a hill. 2 the ground at the edge of a river or lake, etc. Also in compounds. 3 a long raised pile of earth or snow, etc. 4 (also sandbank) a raised area of sand under the sea. 5 a mass of cloud, mist or fog. verb (banked, banking) 1 to enclose something with a bank, or form a bank to it. 2 tr & intr said of an aircraft: to change direction, with one wing higher than the other. 3 (also bank up) to cover (a fire) with a large amount of coal to keep it burning slowly for a long time.
ETYMOLOGY: 13c.

bank³ noun a collection of similar things arranged in rows • a bank of switches.
ETYMOLOGY: 16c: from French banc bench.