bench

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /bɛntʃ/

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• Rhymes: -ɛntʃ

From Middle English bench, benk, bynk, from Old English benċ, benc (“bench”), from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“bench”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend, curve, arch”) (root alternately written out *bʰeg- or *bʰog-[1]). 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.

• benk, bink (dialectal)

bench (plural benches)

1. A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.

   They sat on a park bench and tossed bread crumbs to the ducks and pigeons.

2. (law) The people who decide on the verdict; the judiciary.

   They are awaiting a decision on the motion from the bench.

3. (law, figuratively) The place where the judges sit.

   She sat on the bench for 30 years before she retired.

4. The dignity of holding an official seat.

   the bench of bishops; the civic bench

5. (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”, in BBC‎:

     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.

6. (sports, figuratively) The number of players on a team able to participate, expressed in terms of length.

   Injuries have shortened the bench.

7. 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.

8. (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 xii

     I had no bench or power rack, so by necessity every exercise I did started with the weights on the floor.

9. (surveying) A bracket used to mount land surveying equipment onto a stone or a wall.[2]

   After removing the bench, we can use the mark left on the wall as a reference point.

10. A flat ledge in the slope of an earthwork, work of masonry, or similar.
    • 1912, Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, Chapter 8

      That number carried his glance to the top of this first bulging bench of cliff-base.

11. (geology) A thin strip of relatively flat land bounded by steeper slopes above and below.
12. (Britain, Australia, New Zealand) A kitchen surface on which to prepare food, a counter.
13. (Britain, Australia, New Zealand) A bathroom surface which holds the washbasin, a vanity.
14. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public, traditionally on benches or raised platforms.

bench (third-person singular simple present benches, present participle benching, simple past and past participle benched)

1. (transitive, sports) To remove a player from play.

   They benched him for the rest of the game because they thought he was injured.

   • 2016, Tate Donovan as hockey coach, Manchester by the Sea, written by Kenneth Lonergan:

     OK, you are out! You’re benched!

2. (transitive, figuratively) To remove someone from a position of responsibility temporarily.
3. (slang) To push a person backward against a conspirator 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.

   • Tennyson

     stately theaters benched crescentwise

5. (transitive) To place on a bench or seat of honour.
   • Shakespeare

     whom I […] have benched and reared to worship

• (sports): sideline

From bench press by shortening.

bench (third-person singular simple present benches, present participle benching, simple past and past participle benched)

1. (transitive and intransitive, colloquial) To lift by bench pressing

   I heard he can bench 150 pounds.

   • 1988, Frederick C. Hatfield, "Powersource: Ties that bind", Ironman 47 (6): 21.

     For the first several years of my exclusive career in powerlifting, I couldn't bench too well.

bench (plural benches)

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.

bench (third-person singular simple present benches, present participle benching, simple past and past participle benched)

1. Alternative spelling of bentsh