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View synonyms for

plank

[plangk]

noun

  1. a long, flat piece of timber, thicker than a board.

  2. lumber in such pieces; planking.

  3. something to stand on or to cling to for support.

  4. any one of the stated principles or objectives comprising the political platform of a party campaigning for election.

    They fought for a plank supporting a nuclear freeze.



verb (used with object)

  1. to lay, cover, or furnish with planks.

  2. to bake or broil and serve (steak, fish, chicken, etc.) on a wooden board.

  3. plunk.

plank

1

/ æŋ /

noun

  1. a stout length of sawn timber

  2. something that supports or sustains

  3. one of the policies in a political party's programme

  4. to be forced by pirates to walk to one's death off the end of a plank jutting out over the water from the side of a ship

  5. slanga stupid person; idiot

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to cover or provide (an area) with planks

  2. to beat (meat) to make it tender

  3. to cook or serve (meat or fish) on a special wooden board

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

plank

2

/ æŋ /

verb

  1. (tr) to hide; cache

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • plankless adjective
  • planklike adjective
  • unplanked adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of plank1

1275–1325; Middle English planke < Old North French < Latin planca board, plank. See planch
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Word History and Origins

Origin of plank1

C13: from Old Norman French planke, from Late Latin planca board, from plancus flat-footed; probably related to Greek plax flat surface

Origin of plank2

C19: a variant of plant
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. walk the plank,

    1. to be forced, as by pirates, to walk to one's death by stepping off a plank extending from the ship's side over the water.

    2. to relinquish something, as a position, office, etc., under compulsion.

      We suspect that the new vice-president walked the plank because of a personality clash.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A T-Mobile store was boarded up with wood planks, and other storefronts were closed or had their metal gates pulled down.

From

Just before 9 a.m., two workers from C. Erwin Piper Technical Center carried planks of plywood to City Hall to board up the windows.

From

Capitol Police officers were attacked by rioters with weapons including metal batons, wooden planks, flagpoles, fire extinguishers and pepper spray.

From

It is a verbatim echo of a claim Kennedy has made repeatedly, however, mostly as a plank in his anti-vaccination platform.

From

Two volunteers and the food bank's chef transported the donations off the ship's gang plank on 15 May.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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