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bench

/bɛntʃ/

/bɛntʃ/

Other forms: benches; benched; benching

A bench is a long, flat seat that can usually accommodate several people. A city park bench is a nice place to sit and eat a sandwich.

A picnic table often has benches, and a bench is where baseball players wait for their turn to take a swing at the ball. You might have a work bench in your garage for gluing model planes together. A judge's symbolic office is known as "the bench," and to bench an athlete is to make her take a break from the court or field — if she has to do this often, she'll be known as a "bench warmer."

Definitions of bench
  1. noun
    a long seat for more than one person
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    types:
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    banquette
    an upholstered bench
    flat bench
    a bench on which a weightlifter lies to do exercises
    park bench
    a bench in a public park
    penalty box
    (ice hockey) an enclosed bench to the side of an ice-hockey rink for players who are serving time penalties
    church bench, pew
    long bench with backs; used in church by the congregation
    prie-dieu
    low bench for kneeling on
    settee, settle
    a long wooden bench with a back
    window seat
    a bench or similar seat built into a window recess
    type of:
    seat
    furniture that is designed for sitting on
  2. noun
    a strong worktable for a carpenter or mechanic
    synonyms: work bench, workbench
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    types:
    lab bench, laboratory bench
    a workbench in a laboratory
    type of:
    work table, worktable
    a table designed for a particular task
  3. noun
    a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity (with steep slopes above and below)
    synonyms: terrace
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    type of:
    plateau, tableland
    a relatively flat highland
  4. verb
    exhibit on a bench
    bench the poodles at the dog show”
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    type of:
    display, exhibit, expose
    to show, make visible or apparent
  5. noun
    (law) the seat for judges in a courtroom
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    type of:
    seat
    furniture that is designed for sitting on
  6. noun
    persons who administer justice
    synonyms: judiciary
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    type of:
    administration, brass, establishment, governance, governing body, organisation, organization
    the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something
  7. noun
    the reserve players on a team
    “our team has a strong bench
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    type of:
    subgroup
    a distinct and often subordinate group within a group
  8. verb
    take out of a game; of players
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    type of:
    remove
    remove from a position or an office
Pronunciation
US

/bɛntʃ/

UK

/bɛntʃ/

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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘bench'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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