bench

Meanings

Noun

• A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.
• The people who decide on the verdict; the judiciary.
• The place where the judges sit.
• The dignity of holding an official seat.
• The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing.
• The number of players on a team able to participate, expressed in terms of length.
• A place where assembly or hand work is performed; a workbench.
• A horizontal padded surface, usually adjustable in height and inclination and often with attached weight rack, used for proper posture during exercise.
• A bracket used to mount land surveying equipment onto a stone or a wall.
• A flat ledge in the slope of an earthwork, work of masonry, or similar.
• A thin strip of relatively flat land bounded by steeper slopes above and below.
• A kitchen surface on which to prepare food, a counter.
• A bathroom surface which holds the washbasin, a vanity.
• A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public, traditionally on benches or raised platforms.
• The weight one is able to bench press, especially the maximum weight capable of being pressed.

Verb

• To remove a player from play.
• To remove someone from a position of responsibility temporarily.
• To push a person backward against a conspirator behind them who is on their hands and knees, causing them to fall over.
• To furnish with benches.
• To place on a bench or seat of honour.
• To lift by bench pressing
• Alternate spelling of bentsh

Origin

• From Middle English bench, benk, bynk, from Old English benċ, from Proto-West Germanic *banki, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-.
• Cognate with Scots benk, bink, West Frisian bank, Dutch bank, German Bank, Danish bænk, Swedish bänk, Icelandic bekkur. bank.
• From bench press by shortening.
• See bentsh.