Link Centre Dictionary

bench

UK/ˈbɛnt͡ʃ/ US/ˈbɛnt͡ʃ/ common slang
noun (6) verb (2)

noun

1.

a long seat for more than one person

2.

the reserve players on a team

  • “our team has a strong bench”
3.

a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity (with steep slopes above and below)

Synonyms
4.

persons who administer justice

Synonyms
5.
6.

verb

1.

take out of a game; of players

2.

exhibit on a bench

  • “bench the poodles at the dog show”

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • anxious bench
  • back bench
  • bench bleed
  • bench bleeder
  • bench cheek
  • bench dog
  • bench drill
  • bench-clearing brawl

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.