bank
bank — noun
1. a business that keeps customers' money, lends money, and offers services such as
a business that keeps customers' money, lends money, and offers services such as payments or currency exchange; also a local office where you use these services.
Hannah went to the bank before work to pay her rent.
pattern: go to the bank
Our bank approved the cafe's small business loan on Friday.
collocation: bank loan
Liam waited inside the bank while his mother changed dollars.
change money at a bank
The new bank near school opens on Saturday mornings.
- bank account
- bank loan
- bank branch
- go to the bank
- credit union
a member-owned financial organization, often smaller than a bank.
- branch
one local office, not the whole institution.
- lender
focuses on giving loans, not on the full range of banking services.
Grammar Patterns
go to the bank
have money in the bank
bank loan
Usage Note
Can name the company itself or one branch building. Distinguish from sense 3, which is land beside water.
Common Mistakes
2. in a gambling game, the money or chips that the dealer or house holds and uses t
in a gambling game, the money or chips that the dealer or house holds and uses to pay winners.
After each round, the dealer counted the bank before paying out.
dealer counts the bank
The table closed when the bank ran short of chips.
pattern: the bank ran short
In this card game, one player keeps the bank all night.
pattern: keep the bank
The casino raised the bank for the high-stakes tournament.
- count the bank
- keep the bank
- bank of chips
- raise the bank
- bankroll
can mean the money available for betting, whether for a player or the house.
- fund
a broad word that does not specifically suggest gambling.
- house money
specifically the casino's money in play.
Grammar Patterns
keep the bank
the bank runs low
raise the bank
Usage Note
Usually appears in casino or card-game talk. Distinguish from pot, which is the money already bet in one round.
Common Mistakes
3. the sloping ground next to a river, lake, or canal.
the sloping ground next to a river, lake, or canal.
Two ducks slept on the muddy bank beside the stream.
collocation: muddy bank
We ate lunch on the bank and watched boats pass.
pattern: on the bank
After the storm, water spilled over the bank into gardens.
spill over the bank
A boy climbed the steep bank to reach the road.
- river bank
- muddy bank
- steep bank
- grassy bank
- shore
a broader word for land at the edge of water, especially seas and lakes.
- riverbank
more specific and usually refers only to a river.
- embankment
often suggests a built or strengthened side rather than a natural one.
Grammar Patterns
river bank
on the bank
spill over the bank
Usage Note
Often used with river, canal, lake, and stream. Distinguish from sense 4, which is a pile or wide mass of material.
Common Mistakes
4. a large pile or wide stretch of something like snow, cloud, fog, or earth.
a large pile or wide stretch of something like snow, cloud, fog, or earth.
A dark bank of cloud hid the hills by sunset.
pattern: a bank of cloud
Snow banks still stood beside the road in April.
plural use: snow banks
A low bank of fog covered the harbor at dawn.
pattern: a bank of fog
Workers left a bank of soil near the new wall.
- bank of cloud
- bank of fog
- snow bank
- bank of earth
Grammar Patterns
a bank of cloud
a bank of fog
snow banks
Usage Note
Usually names natural material seen as one thick mass. Distinguish from sense 5, where the items are arranged in a row.
Common Mistakes
5. a line or block of matching objects placed side by side, especially equipment or
a line or block of matching objects placed side by side, especially equipment or controls.
A bank of screens showed every train moving across the city.
pattern: a bank of screens
The old radio has a bank of silver switches.
pattern: a bank of switches
Mina sat behind a bank of phones during the sale.
Along the wall stood a bank of washing machines.
- bank of screens
- bank of switches
- bank of lights
- bank of phones
Grammar Patterns
a bank of screens
a bank of switches
a bank of phones
Usage Note
Most natural with grouped equipment, lights, controls, or similar matching objects. Distinguish from sense 4, which is about one mass of material.
Common Mistakes
6. a place or collected supply where something is kept ready for later use, such as
a place or collected supply where something is kept ready for later use, such as blood, seeds, or digital material.
The hospital asked healthy adults to donate to the blood bank.
compound noun: blood bank
Farmers used the seed bank after the dry summer.
compound noun: seed bank
The museum keeps an image bank for local schools.
compound noun: image bank
Our team searched the data bank for old weather maps.
compound noun: data bank
- blood bank
- seed bank
- image bank
- data bank
- repository
a formal word, often for information or materials kept for use.
- reserve
stresses something kept ready for future need.
- store
a broad everyday word that does not always suggest organized storage.
Grammar Patterns
blood bank
seed bank
data bank
Usage Note
Common in compounds naming what is stored, such as blood bank or seed bank. Distinguish from sense 5, which is a row of objects rather than a stored supply.
Common Mistakes
Money that parents give to their adult children to help them pay for things.
Maya used the Bank of Mum and Dad to buy her first car.
Without the Bank of Mum and Dad, Diego could not afford college.
To earn a lot of money easily and be very happy about it.
After selling his app, Brian laughed all the way to the bank.
The investors laughed all the way to the bank when the company grew.
not break the bank
idiomTo not cost too much money or be more than you can pay.
A simple dinner at home will not break the bank.
Sara found a dress that did not break the bank for the party.
bank — verb
1. to manage your money through a bank, or to place cash into an account there.
to manage your money through a bank, or to place cash into an account there.
Ella banks with a small town bank near her office.
pattern: bank with [bank]
After the fair, volunteers banked the ticket money on Monday.
bank + money
Many students now bank online instead of visiting a branch.
collocation: bank online
The baker banks his weekend cash before opening on Tuesday.
- bank with a local bank
- bank the cash
- bank online
- bank a cheque
- deposit
focuses on putting money into the account, not on using that bank generally.
- save
broader and can happen with or without a bank.
- keep an account
describes the ongoing banking relationship rather than one action.
- withdraw
means taking money out of the bank.
Grammar Patterns
bank with [bank name]
bank money
bank online
Usage Note
With + bank name identifies the institution you use; a direct object is the money that gets deposited. Distinguish from sense 2, which means earning money, not depositing it.
Common Mistakes
2. to bring in a lot of money from something.
to bring in a lot of money from something.
The singer banked thousands from the summer tour.
bank + amount
The toy shop banked $8,000 during the holiday sale.
bank + amount
The concert banked $50,000 from ticket sales that weekend.
bank + amount from [activity]
The film banked more than expected on opening weekend.
- bank thousands
- bank profits
- bank money
- bank millions
- lose
means ending up with less money rather than more.
Grammar Patterns
bank thousands
bank a profit
bank money from [activity]
Usage Note
Common in reports about business, sport, or entertainment, especially when the amount is large. It sounds more informal and more result-focused than earn.
Common Mistakes
3. if a plane or similar aircraft banks, it tilts to one side while turning.
if a plane or similar aircraft banks, it tilts to one side while turning.
The small plane banked left above the dark hills.
pattern: bank left
Passengers grabbed the seats as the jet banked sharply.
collocation: bank sharply
During practice, the pilot banked gently over the coast.
The helicopter banked right before landing in the field.
pattern: bank right
- bank left
- bank right
- bank sharply
- bank gently
Grammar Patterns
bank left
bank right
bank sharply
Usage Note
The subject is usually a plane, jet, or helicopter, and adverbs often describe the degree of turning. Distinguish from sense 4, which is about piling material up.
4. to form a pile, or to cause leaves, snow, soil, or fuel to build up in one place
to form a pile, or to cause leaves, snow, soil, or fuel to build up in one place.
Leaves banked against the garden wall after the wind.
pattern: bank against
Workers banked soil around the young trees for winter.
bank + soil around [thing]
By morning, snow had banked up outside the door.
pattern: bank up
Grandpa banked up the fire before going to sleep.
bank up the fire
- bank against the wall
- bank up outside the door
- bank soil around trees
- bank up the fire
- scatter
means spreading things out instead of gathering them.
Grammar Patterns
bank against [something]
bank up
bank [material] around [something]
Usage Note
Common with snow, leaves, soil, and fires. When the object is a fire, bank up means adding fuel so it stays hot for longer.
Common Mistakes
5. in basketball, to make the ball hit the backboard and then go into the basket.
in basketball, to make the ball hit the backboard and then go into the basket.
Nina banked the ball in from the right side.
pattern: bank the ball in
The guard banked a layup off the glass.
bank a layup off the glass
Coach Lee taught the children to bank short shots.
With two seconds left, Omar banked the winner home.
- bank the ball in
- bank a layup
- bank a shot off the glass
- bank the winner
- miss
means failing to score.
Grammar Patterns
bank the ball in
bank a layup
bank a shot off the glass
Usage Note
Used for basketball shots that go off the backboard, especially from an angle. Distinguish from sense 6, which is for balls hitting the side cushion in table games.
6. in cue sports, to play a ball off the table side so it returns toward a pocket o
in cue sports, to play a ball off the table side so it returns toward a pocket or another ball.
Mia banked the red ball off the side cushion.
bank the ball off the cushion
The coach showed Dan how to bank the cue ball.
bank the cue ball
On his final shot, Leo banked the ball into the corner pocket.
bank into the pocket
During practice, Eva banked the ball twice and found the angle.
- bank the cue ball
- bank off the cushion
- bank into the pocket
- bank shot
Grammar Patterns
bank the ball off the cushion
bank into the pocket
bank the cue ball
Usage Note
Used in cue-sport talk, where the ball first hits the table side. Distinguish from sense 5, where a basketball first hits the backboard.
bank — idiom
money your parents give or lend you when you are already an adult, especially to help with big costs such as housing.
Without the Bank of Mum and Dad, Carla could not afford the flat deposit.
Many graduates still turn to the Bank of Mum and Dad for rent.
to make a great deal of money from something and feel very pleased about it.
The toy maker laughed all the way to the bank after the film.
If ticket sales stay this high, the club will laugh all the way to the bank.
not break the bank
idiomto cost only a moderate amount, so paying for it does not create a serious money problem.
This jacket looks smart and will not break the bank.
You can feed four people here and not break the bank.
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
For money services, bank is the broad everyday word. A bank can hold your money, move money, lend money, and offer cards, loans, and exchange services. A credit union is similar, but it is usually smaller and member-owned, so people often use it for personal accounts rather than large business services. A lender focuses only on giving loans; it may not offer the full range of services a bank does. A branch is just one local office of a bank, not the whole organization. So you might open an account at a bank, borrow from a lender, or visit a branch near your home. In many towns, a credit union feels more local and community-based than a large bank.
Etymology
English bank brings together two old but related historical lines. The land sense is linked to Old Norse bakki, a word for a ridge or raised edge. The money sense came through medieval Italian banca, meaning a bench or money dealer's table, then passed into French and English because money changers often worked at benches in markets. Since both lines involved the idea of a raised surface or bench, one spelling eventually covered the river edge, the financial institution, and later extended meanings.