Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Plank

Plank

,
Noun.
[OE.
planke
, OF.
planque
,
planche
, F.
planche
, fr. L.
planca
; cf. Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK], anything flat and broad. Cf.
Planch
.]
1.
A broad piece of sawed timber, differing from a board only in being thicker. See
Board
.
2.
Fig.: That which supports or upholds, as a board does a swimmer.
His charity is a better
plank
than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot.
Southey.
3.
One of the separate articles in a declaration of the principles of a party or cause;
as, a
plank
in the national platform
.
[Cant]
Plank road
, or
Plank way
,
a road surface formed of planks.
[U.S.]
To walk the plank
,
to walk along a plank laid across the bulwark of a ship, until one overbalances it and falls into the sea; – a method of disposing of captives practiced by pirates.

Plank

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Planked
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Planking
.]
1.
To cover or lay with planks;
as, to
plank
a floor or a ship
.
Planked with pine.”
Dryden.
2.
To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash;
as, to
plank
money in a wager
.
[Colloq. U.S.]
3.
To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
4.
(Wooden Manuf.)
To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing.
Planked shad
,
shad split open, fastened to a plank, and roasted before a wood fire.

Webster 1828 Edition


Plank

PLANK

,
Noun.
A broad piece of sawed timber, differing from a board only in being thicker. In America, broad pieces of sawed timber which are not more than an inch or an inch and a quarter thick, are called boards; like pieces from an inch and a half to three or four inches thick, are called planks. Sometimes pieces more than four inches thick are called planks.

PLANK

,
Verb.
T.
To cover or lay with planks; as, to plank a floor or a ship.

Definition 2024


plank

plank

English

Planks (pieces of timber)

Noun

plank (plural planks)

  1. A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick.
  2. A political issue that is of concern to a faction or a party of the people and the political position that is taken on that issue.
  3. Physical exercise in which one holds a pushup position for a measured length of time.
  4. (Britain, slang) A stupid person, idiot.
  5. That which supports or upholds.
    • Southey
      His charity is a better plank than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:idiot

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

plank (third-person singular simple present planks, present participle planking, simple past and past participle planked)

  1. (transitive) To cover something with planking.
    to plank a floor or a ship
    • Dryden
      Planked with pine.
  2. (transitive) To bake (fish, etc.) on a piece of cedar lumber.
    • 1998, Richard Gerstell, American Shad in the Susquehanna River Basin (page 147)
      Along the lower river, planked shad dinners (baked and broiled) were highly popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  3. (transitive, colloquial) To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash.
    to plank money in a wager
  4. (transitive) To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
  5. To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing.
  6. (intransitive) To pose for a photograph while lying rigid, face down, arms at side, in an unusual place.

Translations


Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɑŋk

Etymology

From Old Northern French planke, from Late Latin planca.

Noun

plank f (plural planken, diminutive plankje n)

  1. a shelf
  2. a (wooden) plank

Swedish

Noun

plank n

  1. a high wooden fence which completely prevents any seeing-through

Declension

Inflection of plank 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative plank planket plank planken
Genitive planks plankets planks plankens

Compounds

  • bullerplank