bank

bank

Institution that deals in money and its substitutes and provides other financial services. Banks accept deposits and make loans and derive a profit from the difference in the interest paid to lenders (depositors) and charged to borrowers, respectively. They also profit from fees charged for services. The three major classes of banks are commercial banks, investment banks, and central banks. Banking depends entirely on public confidence in the system's soundness; no bank could pay all its depositors should they simultaneously demand cash, as may happen in a panic. See also credit union; Federal Reserve System; savings and loan association; savings bank.

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bank

An arrangement of identical hardware components.

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bank¹

1. the funds held by a gaming house or a banker or dealer in some gambling games

2. in various games

a. the stock, as of money, pieces, tokens, etc., on which players may draw

b. the player holding this stock

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bank²

1. a slope, as of a hill

2. the sloping side of any hollow in the ground, esp when bordering a river

3. 

a. an elevated section, rising to near the surface, of the bed of a sea, lake, or river

b. (in combination): sandbank

4. the lateral inclination of an aircraft about its longitudinal axis during a turn

5. a bend on a road or on a railway, athletics, cycling, or other track having the outside built higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force on vehicles, runners, etc., rounding it at speed and in some cases to facilitate drainage

6. the cushion of a billiard table

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bank

a. a tier of oars in a galley

b. a bench for the rowers in a galley