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bench

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The place where players and coaches sit when not playing.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

behnch
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɛntʃ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. law

    The magistrate or judge or judges sitting in court in judicial capacity to compose the court collectively

  2. law

    The seat for judges in a courtroom

  3. law

    The seat where the judges sit in court.

  4. sports

    The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing.

  5. A seat where people sit together in an official capacity.

  6. A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools.

verb

  1. transitivefiguratively

    To remove someone from a position of responsibility temporarily.

  2. To recite the Birkat Hamazon.

  3. transitive

    To furnish with benches.

  4. Exhibit on a bench

    “Bench the poodles at the dog show.”

  5. transitive

    To place on a bench or seat of honour.

  6. transitive and intransitivecolloquial

    To lift by bench pressing

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing.

Used this way, bench is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a sporting use: familiar to anyone who follows the game, and puzzling to anyone who does not.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Sports
  • News/reporting
  • Everyday conversation

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use bench

  • “Our team has a strong bench.”noun
  • “Bench the poodles at the dog show.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Place

work benchpiano bench

Horizontal

bench mark

Other combinations

park benchfront benchbench presstreasury benchstone bench

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • bench lathenounCompound term

    Lathe mounted on a workbench.

  • bench marknounCompound term

    A surveyor's mark on a permanent object of predetermined position and elevation used as a reference point.

  • bench pressnounCompound term

    A weightlift in which you lie on your back on a bench and press weights upward.

  • bench visenounCompound term

    A holding device attached to a workbench.

  • bench warmernounCompound term

    A substitute who seldom plays.

  • bench warrantnounCompound term

    A warrant authorizing law enforcement officials to apprehend an offender and bring that person to court.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.