bank

/bæɳk/

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The word "bank" has several meanings and uses in English, making it a versatile term. Here’s a simple breakdown to help you understand it better:

Definitions:

1. Noun (Financial Institution): A bank is a place where people can deposit their money, take loans, and manage their finances. For example, "The bank is on the corner of Nassau and Witherspoon."

2. Noun (Container for Money): A bank can also refer to a container, often with a slot at the top, where people keep their coins. For example, "The coin bank was empty."

3. Noun (Slope/Side): A bank can mean the land alongside a body of water, like a river. For instance, "He sat on the bank of the river and watched the currents."

4. Noun (In Gambling): In gambling, "the bank" refers to the total amount of money that a casino or dealer has. For example, "He tried to break the bank at Monte Carlo."

5. Noun (Row or Arrangement): It can also describe a row or series of similar items, like "a bank of switches."

6. Verb: As a verb, to bank means to rely on or trust something. For example, "You can bank on your good education."

Usage Instructions:

• When using "bank" as a noun, make sure to clarify which meaning you are referring to based on context (financial institution, container, slope, etc.).
• When using it as a verb, it usually connects with trust or reliance (e.g., "bank on").

Examples:

• Noun (Financial): "I cashed a check at the bank."
• Noun (Container): "I saved my coins in a bank."
• Noun (Slope): "They pulled the canoe up on the bank."
• Noun (Gambling): "He lost a lot of money trying to beat the bank."
• Verb: "You can bank on her to help with the project."

Advanced Usage:

• Bank as a Financial Institution: In finance, banks also offer services like investment accounts, mortgages, and credit cards.
• Bank as a Verb: In a business context, "to bank" can mean to manage finances or accounts effectively.

Word Variants:

• Banker: A person who works at a bank or is involved in banking.
• Banking: The industry or activities related to banks (e.g., banking services).
• Bankable: Something that is likely to succeed or can be relied upon.

Different Meanings:

• Bank (Verb in Aviation): When talking about flying, to "bank" means to tilt an aircraft laterally, especially during a turn. "The pilot had to bank the aircraft."
• Bank (Noun in Geography): A bank can also refer to a long ridge or pile, like "a huge bank of earth."

Synonyms:

• For financial institution: Credit Union, Financial Institution
• For slope: Embankment, Bank
• For container: Piggy Bank

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• "Break the bank": To spend all of your money or to cost a lot (e.g., "Buying a new car might break the bank.").
• "Bank on it": To rely on something happening (e.g., "You can bank on it that I’ll be there on time.").

Academic

Noun

1. a flight maneuver; aircraft tips laterally about its longitudinal axis (especially in turning)
   • the plane went into a steep bank
2. a building in which the business of banking transacted
   • the bank is on the corner of Nassau and Witherspoon
3. a container (usually with a slot in the top) for keeping money at home
   • the coin bank was empty
4. a slope in the turn of a road or track; the outside is higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force
5. the funds held by a gambling house or the dealer in some gambling games
   • he tried to break the bank at Monte Carlo
6. a supply or stock held in reserve for future use (especially in emergencies)
7. an arrangement of similar objects in a row or in tiers
   • he operated a bank of switches
8. a long ridge or pile
   • a huge bank of earth
9. a financial institution that accepts deposits and channels the money into lending activities
   • he cashed a check at the bank
   • that bank holds the mortgage on my home
10. sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
    • they pulled the canoe up on the bank
    • he sat on the bank of the river and watched the currents

Verb

1. have confidence or faith in
   • We can trust in God
   • Rely on your friends
   • bank on your good education
   • I swear by my grandmother's recipes
2. cover with ashes so to control the rate of burning
   • bank a fire
3. put into a bank account
   • She deposits her paycheck every month
4. be in the banking business
5. act as the banker in a game or in gambling
6. do business with a bank or keep an account at a bank
   • Where do you bank in this town?
7. enclose with a bank
   • bank roads
8. tip laterally
   • the pilot had to bank the aircraft

Synonyms

• bank building
• savings bank
• coin bank
• money box
• cant
• camber
• depository financial institution
• banking concern
• banking company
• trust
• swear
• rely
• deposit