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bench

Pronunciation: /ˈbɛnt͡ʃ/

The English word “bench” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.
  2. The people who decide on the verdict, collectively; the judiciary.
  3. The office or dignity of a judge.
  4. A long seat for politicians in a parliamentary chamber.
  5. The dignity of holding an official seat.
  6. The people who hold a certain type of official seat, collectively; a group of officeholders.
  7. The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing.
  8. The number of players on a team able to participate, often expressed in terms of length.
  9. A place where assembly or hand work is performed; a workbench.
  10. A horizontal padded surface, usually adjustable in height and inclination and often with attached weight rack, used for proper posture during exercise.
  11. A bracket used to mount land surveying equipment onto a stone or a wall.
  12. A flat ledge in the slope of an earthwork, work of masonry, or similar.
  13. A thin strip of relatively flat land bounded by steeper slopes above and below.
  14. A kitchen surface on which to prepare food, a counter.
  15. A bathroom surface which holds the washbasin, a vanity.
  16. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public, traditionally on benches or raised platforms.

verb

  1. To remove a player from play.
  2. To remove someone from a position of responsibility temporarily.
  3. To push a person backward against a conspirator behind them who is on their hands and knees, causing them to fall over.
  4. To furnish with benches.

Etymology

From Middle English bench, benk, bynk, from Old English benċ (“bench”), from Proto-West Germanic *banki, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“bench”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-. Cognate with Scots benk, bink (“bench”), West Frisian bank (“bench”), Dutch bank (“bench”), German Bank (“bench”), Danish bænk (“bench”), Swedish bänk (“bench”), Icelandic bekkur (“bench”). Doublet of banc, banco, and bank.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.