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2 : an undersea elevation

3 : rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea

4 : the sideways slope of a surface along a curve or of a vehicle as it rounds a curve

Synonyms

bar, drift, mound; also snowbank, snowdrift

2bank verb 1 : to form a bank about

2 : to cover (as a fire) with fuel to keep inactive

3 : to build (a curve) with the roadbed or track inclined laterally upward from the inside edge

4 : to pile or heap in a bank; also : to arrange in a tier

5 : to incline (an airplane) laterally

3bank noun [ORIGIN: ME, fr. MF or It; MF banque, fr. It banca, lit., bench]

1 : an establishment concerned esp. with the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, the extension of credit, and the transmission of funds

2 : a stock of or a place for holding something in reserve

4bank verb 1 : to conduct the business of a bank

2 : to deposit money or have an account in a bank

— bank·er noun

— bank·ing noun

5bank noun : a group of objects arranged close together (as in a row or tier)

bank·book noun : the depositor's book in which a bank records deposits and withdrawals

bank·card noun : a credit card issued by a bank

bank·note noun : a promissory note issued by a bank and circulating as money

bank·roll noun : supply of money : FUNDS

1bankrupt noun [ORIGIN: modif. of MF banquerote bankruptcy, fr. It bancarotta, fr. banca bank + rotta broken]

: an insolvent person; especially : one whose property is turned over by court action to a trustee to be handled for the benefit of his creditors

2bankrupt adjective 1 : reduced to financial ruin; especially : legally declared a bankrupt

2 : wholly lacking in or deprived of some essential

— bank·rupt·cy noun

3bankrupt verb : to reduce to bankruptcy

1banner noun 1 : a piece of cloth attached to a staff and used by a leader as his standard

2 : a usu. rectangular piece of fabric of distinctive design that is used as a symbol (as of a nation), as a signaling device, or as a decoration : FLAG

3 : an advertisement that runs usu. across the top of a Web page

Synonyms

[1, 2] colors, ensign, flag, jack, pennant, standard, streamer—more at FLAG

2banner adjective : distinguished from all others esp. in excellence

Synonyms

A1, excellent, grand, great, stellar, superior, unsurpassed—more at EXCELLENT

ban·nock noun : a flat oatmeal or barley cake usu. cooked on a griddle

banns noun plural : public announcement esp. in church of a proposed marriage

1banquet noun [ORIGIN: MF, fr. It banchetto, fr. dim. of banca bench]

: a ceremonial dinner

Synonyms

dinner, feast, feed, spread—more at FEAST

2banquet verb : to partake of or treat with a banquet

ban·quette noun : a long upholstered bench esp. along a wall

ban·shee noun [ORIGIN: Ir bean sídhe & ScGael bean sìth, lit., woman of fairyland]

: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die

ban·tam noun 1 : any of numerous small domestic fowls that are often miniatures of standard breeds

2 : a small but pugnacious person

1banter verb : to speak to in a witty and teasing manner

2banter noun : good-natured witty joking

Synonyms

chaff, persiflage, raillery, repartee; also barb, crack, dig, gag, jest, joke, quip, sally, wisecrack, witticism

Ban·tu noun, plural Bantu or Bantus 1 : a member of a group of African peoples of central and southern Africa

2 : a group of African languages spoken by the Bantu

Ban·tu·stan noun : an all-black enclave in the Republic of So. Africa with a limited degree of self-government

ban·yan noun [ORIGIN: earlier banyan Hindu merchant, fr. Hindi baniyā; fr. a merchant's pagoda erected under a tree of the species in Iran]

: a large tropical Asian tree whose aerial roots grow downward to the ground and form new trunks

ban·zai noun : a Japanese cheer or cry of triumph

bao·bab noun : a tropical African tree with a short swollen trunk and sour edible gourdlike