Bench

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /bÉ›ntʃ/
• Rhymes: -É›ntʃ

From Middle English bench, benk, bynk, from Old English benċ, benc ("bench"), from Proto-Germanic *bankiz ("bench"), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ("to bend, curve, arch"). 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"). Related to bank.

Alternative forms

• benk, bink dialectal

Full definition of bench

Noun

1. A long seat, for example, in the park.They sat on a park bench and tossed bread crumbs to the ducks and pigeons.
2. (legal) The people who decide on the verdict; the judiciary.They are awaiting a decision on the motion from the bench.
3. (legal, figuratively) The place where the judges sit.She sat on the bench for 30 years before she retired.
4. (sports) The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing.He spent the first three games on the bench, watching.
• 2011, March 1, Phil McNulty, Chelsea 2 - 1 Man Utd, 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.
5. (sports, figuratively) The number of players on a team able to participate, expressed in terms of length.Injuries have shortened the bench.
6. A place where assembly or hand work is performed; a workbench.She placed the workpiece on the bench, inspected it closely, and opened the cover.
7. (weightlifting) A horizontal padded surface, usually with a weight rack, used for support during exercise.
• 2008, Lou Schuler, "Foreward", in Nate Green, Built for Show, page xiiI had no bench or power rack, so by necessity every exercise I did started with the weights on the floor.
8. (surveying) A bracket used to mount land surveying equipment onto a stone or a wall.Description of bench, as part of the benchmark etymologyAfter removing the bench, we can use the mark left on the wall as a reference point.
9. A flat ledge in the slope of an earthwork, work of masonry, or similar.
• Grey Riders|8That number carried his glance to the top of this first bulging bench of cliff-base.
10. (geology) A thin strip of relatively flat land bounded by steeper slopes above and below.
11. (UK, Australia, NZ) A kitchen surface on which to prepare food, a counter.
12. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public, traditionally on benches or raised platforms.

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive, sports) To remove a player from play.They benched him for the rest of the game because they thought he was injured.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To remove someone from a position of responsibility temporarily.
3. (slang) To push the victim back on the person behind them who is on their hands and knees, causing them to fall over.
4. (transitive) To furnish with benches.
• Dryden'Twas benched with turf.
• Tennysonstately theaters benched crescentwise
5. (transitive) To place on a bench or seat of honour.
• Shakespearewhom I ... have benched and reared to worship

Synonyms

• (sports) sideline

From bench press by shortening.

Verb

1. (transitive and intransitive, colloquial) To lift by bench pressingI heard he can bench 150 pounds.
• 1988, Frederick C. Hatfield, "Powersource: Ties that bind", Iron Man (magazine) 47 (6): 21.For the first several years of my exclusive career in powerlifting, I couldn't bench too well.

Noun

1. (weightlifting) The weight one is able to bench press, especially the maximum weight capable of being pressed.He became frustrated when his bench increased by only 10 pounds despite a month of training.

See bentsh.

Verb

1. Alternative spelling of bentsh