plank
Americannoun
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a long, flat piece of timber, thicker than a board.
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lumber in such pieces; planking.
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something to stand on or to cling to for support.
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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)
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to lay, cover, or furnish with planks.
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to bake or broil and serve (steak, fish, chicken, etc.) on a wooden board.
idioms
noun
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a stout length of sawn timber
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something that supports or sustains
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one of the policies in a political party's programme
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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
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slang a stupid person; idiot
verb
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to cover or provide (an area) with planks
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to beat (meat) to make it tender
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to cook or serve (meat or fish) on a special wooden board
verb
Other Word Forms
- plankless adjective
- planklike adjective
- unplanked adjective
Etymology
Origin of plank
1275–1325; Middle English planke < Old North French < Latin planca board, plank. See planch
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I took the baby from her arms, and Opal slumped to the ground, wetting the wood planks with her tears.
From Literature
Hence, an episode interwoven with his anti-war, anti-nuke and anti-corporate profiteering planks also enabled him to criticize broadcast media’s lack of inclusion.
From Salon
So you have 21 representatives from the central banking community all saying we need to go forward with these five key planks of reforms and development.
He travels at roughly 5:20-mile pace, uphill, with his feet strapped to carbon-fiber planks, after he’s skied at top speed for several minutes.
A fresh scientific investigation of the Hjortspring boat, an ancient wooden plank vessel displayed at the National Museum of Denmark, is shedding new light on where it may have come from.
From Science Daily
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.
