Adjacent Words

Bench definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BENCH, n.
1. A long seat,usually of board or plank, differing from a stool in its greater length.
2. The seat where judges sit in court; the seat of justice. Hence,
3. The persons who sit as judges; the court.
Free bench, in England, the estate in copy hold lands, which the wife, being espoused a virgin, has for her dower, after the decease of her husband. This is various in different manors, according to their respective customs.
King's Bench, in England, a court in which the king formerly sat in person, and which accompanied his household. The court consists of the Lord Chief Justice, and three other justices, who have jurisdiction over all matters of a criminal or public nature. It has a crown side and a plea side; the former determining criminal, the latter, civil causes.
BENCH, v.t. To furnish with benches.
1. To seat on a bench.
2. v.i. To sit on a seat of justice.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a long seat for more than one person
2: a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity (with steep slopes above and below) [syn: terrace, bench]
3: persons who administer justice [syn: judiciary, bench]
4: a strong worktable for a carpenter or mechanic [syn: workbench, work bench, bench]
5: the magistrate or judge or judges sitting in court in judicial capacity to compose the court collectively
6: the reserve players on a team; "our team has a strong bench"
7: (law) the seat for judges in a courtroom v
1: take out of a game; of players
2: exhibit on a bench; "bench the poodles at the dog show"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English benc; akin to Old High German bank bench Date: before 12th century 1. a. a long seat for two or more persons b. a thwart in a boat c. (1) a seat on which the members of an athletic team await a turn or opportunity to play (2) the reserve players on a team; broadly a reserve force 2. a. the seat where a judge sits in court b. the place where justice is administered ; court c. the office or dignity of a judge <sat on the bench for 20 years> d. the persons who sit as judges 3. a. the office or dignity of an official b. a seat for an official c. the officials occupying a bench 4. a. a long worktable; also laboratory <bench chemist> <bench test> b. a table forming part of a machine 5. terrace, shelf: as a. a former wave-cut shore of a sea or lake or floodplain of a river b. a shelf or ridge formed in working an open excavation on more than one level 6. a compartmented platform on which dogs or cats are kept at a show when not being judged II. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to furnish with benches 2. a. to seat on a bench b. (1) to remove from or keep out of a game; broadly to remove from use or from a position (2) to remove from the starting lineup 3. to exhibit (dogs or cats) to the public on a bench 4. to lift (a weight) in a bench press <bench 200 pounds> intransitive verb to form a bench by natural processes

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a long seat of wood or stone for seating several people. 2 a working-table, e.g. for a carpenter, mechanic, or scientist. 3 (prec. by the) a the office of judge or magistrate. b a judge's seat in a lawcourt. c a lawcourt. d judges and magistrates collectively. 4 (often in pl.) Sport an area to the side of a pitch, with seating where coaches and players not taking part can watch the game. 5 Brit. Parl. a seat appropriated as specified (front bench). 6 a level ledge in masonry or an earthwork, on a hill-slope, etc. --v.tr. 1 exhibit (a dog) at a show. 2 Sport US withdraw (a player) from the pitch to the benches. Phrases and idioms: bench test esp. Computing n. a test made by benchmarking. --v.tr. run a series of tests on (a computer etc.) before its use. King's (or Queen's) Bench (in the UK) a division of the High Court of Justice. on the bench appointed a judge or magistrate. Etymology: OE benc f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bench Bench, v. i. To sit on a seat of justice. [R.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bench Bench, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benched; p. pr. & vb. n. Benching.] 1. To furnish with benches. 'T was benched with turf. --Dryden. Stately theaters benched crescentwise. --Tennyson. 2. To place on a bench or seat of honor. Whom I . . . have benched and reared to worship. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bench Bench, n.; pl. Benches. [OE. bench, benk, AS. benc; akin to Sw. b["a]nk, Dan b[ae]nk, Icel. bekkr, OS., D., & G. bank. Cf. Bank, Beach.] 1. A long seat, differing from a stool in its greater length. Mossy benches supplied the place of chairs. --Sir W. Scott. 2. A long table at which mechanics and other work; as, a carpenter's bench. 3. The seat where judges sit in court. To pluck down justice from your awful bench. --Shak. 4. The persons who sit as judges; the court; as, the opinion of the full bench. See King's Bench. 5. A collection or group of dogs exhibited to the public; -- so named because the animals are usually placed on benches or raised platforms. 6. A conformation like a bench; a long stretch of flat ground, or a kind of natural terrace, near a lake or river. Bench mark (Leveling), one of a number of marks along a line of survey, affixed to permanent objects, to show where leveling staffs were placed. Bench of bishops, the whole body of English prelates assembled in council. Bench plane, any plane used by carpenters and joiners for working a flat surface, as jack planes, long planes. Bench show, an exhibition of dogs. Bench table (Arch.), a projecting course at the base of a building, or round a pillar, sufficient to form a seat.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(benches) 1. A bench is a long seat of wood or metal that two or more people can sit on. He sat down on a park bench. N-COUNT 2. A bench is a long, narrow table in a factory or laboratory. ...the laboratory bench. N-COUNT 3. In parliament, different groups sit on different benches. For example, the government sits on the government benches. (BRIT) ...the opposition benches. N-PLURAL see also backbench, backbencher, backbenches, front bench 4. In a court of law, the bench is the judge or magistrates. The chairman of the bench adjourned the case until October 27. N-SING-COLL: the N

Easton's Bible Dictionary

deck of a Tyrian ship, described by Ezekiel (27:6) as overlaid with box-wood.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(qeresh): Found only in English Versions of the Bible in Eze 27:6, in the prophet's "lamentation over Tyre": "They have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the isles of Kittim," where the word evidently stands for the "benches" of the boat whose "mast" (verse 5) and "oars" (verse 6) have just been described, in the vivid figs. of speech in which the city itself is pictured as a merchantship. Compare verse 8, "Thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots."

See SEAT.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Long seat, seat, form. 2. Work-bench. 3. [With The.] Judge's seat, woolsack. 4. Court, tribunal, body of judges, rank of a judge.

Moby Thesaurus

British Cabinet, Sanhedrin, US Cabinet, advisory body, agency, ambo, assembly, association, atelier, bar, barbershop, beauty parlor, beauty shop, board, body of advisers, borough council, brain trust, buffet, butcher shop, cabinet, camarilla, chair, chamber, city council, common council, company, concern, conference, congress, consultative assembly, corporation, council, council fire, council of ministers, council of state, council of war, counter, county council, court, curule chair, dais, deliberative assembly, desk, diet, directory, divan, escritoire, establishment, facility, firm, helm, house, installation, institution, judgment seat, junta, kitchen cabinet, lectern, legislature, loft, mercy seat, mesa, organization, parish council, parlor, plateau, privy council, saddle, seat, seat of justice, seat of power, seat of state, secretaire, secretary, shop, soviet, staff, stand, studio, sweatshop, syndicate, synod, table, table mountain, tableland, tribunal, woolsack, work site, work space, workbench, workhouse, working space, workplace, workroom, workshop, worktable, writing table