bench Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a long seat for more than one person
  2. noun a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity (with steep slopes above and below)
    terrace.
  3. noun persons who administer justice
    judiciary.
  4. noun a strong worktable for a carpenter or mechanic
    workbench; work bench.
  5. noun the magistrate or judge or judges sitting in court in judicial capacity to compose the court collectively
  6. noun the reserve players on a team
    • our team has a strong bench
  7. noun (law) the seat for judges in a courtroom
  8. verb take out of a game; of players
  9. verb exhibit on a bench
    • bench the poodles at the dog show

WordNet


Bench noun
Etymology
OE. bench, benk, AS. benc; akin to Sw. bänk, Dan bænk, Icel. bekkr, OS., D., & G. bank. Cf. Bank, Beach.
Wordforms
plural Benches
Definitions
  1. A long seat, differing from a stool in its greater length.
    Mossy benches supplied the place of chairs. Sir W. Scott.
  2. A long table at which mechanics and other work; as, a carpenter's bench.
  3. The seat where judges sit in court.
    To pluck down justice from your awful bench. Shak.
  4. The persons who sit as judges; the court; as, the opinion of the full bench. See King's Bench.
  5. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public; -- so named because the animals are usually placed on benches or raised platforms.
  6. A conformation like a bench; a long stretch of flat ground, or a kind of natural terrace, near a lake or river.
Bench transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Benched present participle & verbal noun Benching
Definitions
  1. To furnish with benches.
    'T was benched with turf. Dryden.
    Stately theaters benched crescentwise. Tennyson.
  2. To place on a bench or seat of honor.
    Whom I . . . have benched and reared to worship. Shak.
Bench intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To sit on a seat of justice. R. Shak.

Webster 1913