Bank

Bank Bank (b[a^][ng]k), n. [OE. banke; akin to E. bench, and prob. of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. bakki. See {Bench}.] 1. A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a bank of clouds; a bank of snow. [1913 Webster]

They cast up a bank against the city. --2 Sam. xx. 15. [1913 Webster]

2. A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine. [1913 Webster]

3. The margin of a watercourse; the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea, or forming the edge of a cutting, or other hollow. [1913 Webster]

Tiber trembled underneath her banks. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

4. An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or shallow; as, the banks of Newfoundland. [1913 Webster]

5. (Mining) (a) The face of the coal at which miners are working. (b) A deposit of ore or coal, worked by excavations above water level. (c) The ground at the top of a shaft; as, ores are brought to bank. [1913 Webster]

6. (A["e]ronautics) The lateral inclination of an a["e]roplane as it rounds a curve; as, a bank of 45[deg] is easy; a bank of 90[deg] is dangerous. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

7. A group or series of objects arranged near together; as, a bank of electric lamps, etc. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

8. The tilt of a roadway or railroad, at a curve in the road, designed to counteract centrifugal forces acting on vehicles moving rapiudly around the curve, thus reducing the danger of overturning during a turn. [PJC]

{Bank beaver} (Zo["o]l.), the otter. [Local, U.S.]

{Bank swallow}, a small American and European swallow ({Clivicola riparia}) that nests in a hole which it excavates in a bank. [1913 Webster]