bench
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /bɛnt͡ʃ/
rhymes: -ɛntʃ
Forms: form: benches
form: benk
form: bink
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.
Senses: examples: text: They sat on a park bench and tossed bread crumbs to the ducks and pigeons.
text: Scarborough station's famous 139-metre-long bench, believed to be the longest in the world, has been restored in a £14,500 project.
ref: 2021 January 27, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 923, page 71, photo caption:
glosses: A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.
examples: text: They are awaiting a decision on the motion from the bench.
topics: law
glosses: The seat where the judges sit in court.
The people who decide on the verdict, collectively; the judiciary.
examples: text: She sat on the bench for 30 years before she retired.
topics: law
glosses: The seat where the judges sit in court.
The office or dignity of a judge.
examples: text: the government front bench
text: On the opposition benches at Holyrood, Scottish Labour's transport spokesman Neil Bibby favours a more formal approach of involving passenger and worker representatives in the management of ScotRail.
ref: 2022 April 6, Conrad Landin, “ScotRail in the public eye...”, in RAIL, number 954, page 40:
topics: government
glosses: A seat where people sit together in an official capacity.
A long seat for politicians in a parliamentary chamber.
examples: text: the bench of bishops
text: the civic bench
glosses: A seat where people sit together in an official capacity.
The dignity of holding an official seat.
examples: text: Mr. Zuckerberg’s repositioning of Meta started in earnest last year, when he began rearranging his bench of lieutenants.
ref: 2022 July 26, Mike Isaac, “‘Operating With Increased Intensity’: Zuckerberg Leads Meta Into Next Phase”, in The New York Times:
glosses: A seat where people sit together in an official capacity.
The people who hold a certain type of official seat, collectively; a group of officeholders.
examples: text: He spent the first three games on the bench, watching.
text: But Chelsea, who left Didier Drogba on the bench as coach Carlo Ancelotti favoured Fernando Torres, staged a stirring fightback to move up to fourth and keep United in their sights on a night when nothing other than victory would have kept the Blues in contention.
ref: 2011 March 1, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC:
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing.
examples: text: Injuries have shortened the bench.
topics: government
hobbies
lifestyle
politics
sports
glosses: The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing.
The number of players on a team able to participate, often expressed in terms of length.
examples: text: She placed the workpiece on the bench, inspected it closely, and opened the cover.
glosses: A place where assembly or hand work is performed; a workbench.
examples: 2008, Lou Schuler, "Foreward", in Nate Green, Built for Show, page xii
I had no bench or power rack, so by necessity every exercise I did started with the weights on the floor.
glosses: A horizontal padded surface, usually adjustable in height and inclination and often with attached weight rack, used for proper posture during exercise.
examples: text: After removing the bench, we can use the mark left on the wall as a reference point.
topics: geography
natural-sciences
surveying
glosses: A bracket used to mount land surveying equipment onto a stone or a wall.
examples: text: That number carried his glance to the top of this first bulging bench of cliff-base.
ref: 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
glosses: A flat ledge in the slope of an earthwork, work of masonry, or similar.
topics: geography
geology
natural-sciences
glosses: A thin strip of relatively flat land bounded by steeper slopes above and below.
glosses: A kitchen surface on which to prepare food, a counter.
glosses: A bathroom surface which holds the washbasin, a vanity.
glosses: A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public, traditionally on benches or raised platforms.
Hyponyms: ale bench
ale-bench
alebench
back bench
back-bench
backbench
buddy bench
cross-bench
crossbench
deacon's bench
friendship bench
front bench
hammer bench
hot bench
mead bench
mead-bench
moaner's bench
mourners' bench
penniless-bench
piano bench
preacher bench
shaving bench
show bench
sub bench
subs' bench
substitutes' bench
test bench
tiger bench
turn bench
Derived terms: anxious bench
back bench
back-bench
backbench
bantling
benchball
bench bleed
bench bleeder
bench cheek
bench-clearing brawl
bench dog
bench drill
bench easel
bencher
benchfellow
benchful
bench grinder
bench-hole
bench hook
bench jockey
benchland
benchless
benchlet
benchlike
benchman
bench mark
benchmark
benchmate
bench memo
bench plane
bench-press
bench pull
benchrest
bench saw
bench scientist
bench scraper
bench seat
bench show
benchside
benchslap
bench strength
bench table
bench test
benchtop
bench trial
bench-warmer
bench warmer
bench warrant
benchwork
benchy
Camden bench
cryobench
disbench
drawbench
empty the bench
free bench
imbenching
on the bench
Queen's Bench
ride the bench
sawbench
take the bench
testbench
unbench
warm the bench
wheelbench
widow's bench