bank

Meanings

1. A business that keeps and lends money.
2. A place where something is stored for later use, as in a blood bank.

Example sentences

• "I need to go to the bank to pay in this check."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "She opened a savings account at the bank."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "The hospital has a blood bank."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

• "The bank gave them a loan to buy a house."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• bank (river) : A river bank is the raised land beside water. It sounds the same but comes from a different word.
• credit union : A credit union is owned by its members. A bank is usually a company with shareholders.

Word family and forms

Forms: banks

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "bank".

• a bank account
• open a bank
• the bank manager
• the Bank of England
• a savings bank
• a blood bank

Idioms and phrases

break the bank

To cost more money than you can afford.

"A holiday in Paris will not break the bank."

Origin

Bank, the place for money, came into English in the 1400s from Middle French banque, which took it from Italian banca, a counter or a table used by a money changer. The Italian word comes from a Germanic word for a bench. The river bank is a separate word.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

This word has two very different meanings: a financial institution, and the edge of a river or lake.

How to remember it

Bank has an old meaning of a bench. Money changers sat at a bench in the market, and the bench gave the word.

Test yourself

Learn next at A1

• banner A long piece of cloth or paper with writing or a design, hung up as a...
• barely Only just, by a very small amount.
• bargain Something bought for a lower price than it's usually worth, or an agre...
• bark The tough outer covering of a tree's trunk and branches.
• barn A large building on a farm used to store crops or keep animals.
• barrel A large, round container with curved sides, usually made of wood or me...