What does bank mean?
A bank is, most commonly, a financial institution authorized to hold deposits, extend credit, exchange currency, and facilitate payments — the backbone of modern commerce and personal finance. The same word also names the sloping earth along a river or other body of water, a sense so old that it actually predates the financial one. Beyond these dominant uses, 'bank' describes a stored reserve of goods, as in a blood bank or food bank, an arrangement of similar objects in rows, such as a bank of elevators or monitors, and the sideways tilt of an aircraft turning through the sky. The word carries connotations of security and stability in its financial sense, and of calm natural scenery in its geographical one. Its dual identity makes it one of English's more versatile nouns: the same syllable can summon marble-columned skyscrapers or willow-shaded riversides.
A financial institution that accepts deposits, grants loans, and offers related monetary services.
"The couple applied for a mortgage at their local bank."
Often capitalized in specific institutional names.
The rising ground bordering a river, lake, or other body of water.
"Children sat on the grassy bank skipping stones into the water."
To deposit money with a bank; also, to tilt or incline when turning (as an aircraft does).
"The airliner banked sharply to avoid the storm front."
The aviation sense is standard in technical and journalistic writing.
A stock or reserve of something accumulated for future use.
"Volunteers restocked the community food bank before the holidays."
Pluralizes regularly; used chiefly of multiple institutions or of both sides of a waterway.
"Small banks struggled after the financial crisis, while the willow-lined banks drew painters all summer."
The word 'bank' comes from the bench-like tables on which Renaissance Italian moneylenders set up shop — bankrupt literally meant having your trading bench smashed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bank
'Bank' entered Middle English from Old French 'banque', borrowed from Italian 'banca', which originally denoted the bench or table on which medieval money changers displayed their wares. The underlying Germanic root also produced the everyday English word 'bench', making the furniture and the financial institution literal cousins. The geographical sense — the earthen side of a river — came through Old Norse 'bakki' and is etymologically distinct from the Italian-derived financial term, converging on the same English form by historical accident. Cognates survive across Europe as French 'banque' and Italian 'banco'.
Related word forms
How bank is actually used
In everyday speech, 'bank' overwhelmingly refers to the financial institution; the geographical sense is usually made explicit by context ('river bank', 'left bank'). The plural noun form is used mainly for institutions ('the big four banks') or physical formations ('the northern banks of the estuary'), while the sense meaning a row of objects often appears as 'a bank of'.
Easily confused with bank
A bench is a long seat, but the two words share a distant Germanic root — early Italian bankers literally conducted business on benches, which is how 'bank' acquired its financial meaning.