What is "bench"

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.

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. See bench mark in the vocabulary.

   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.

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

Old English benc "long seat," from Proto-Germanic *bankiz "bank of earth," perhaps here "man-made earthwork," later "bench, table" (cognates: Old Frisian bank "bench," Old Norse bekkr, Danish bænk, Middle Dutch banc, Old High German banch), from PIE root *bheg- "to break." Used for "office of a judge" since late 13c. Sporting sense "reserve of players" (in baseball, North American football, etc.) is by 1909, from literal sense of place where players sit when not in action (by 1889).

"to take out of the game," 1902, from bench (n.) in the sporting sense. Related: Benched; benching. Old English also had a verb form, but it meant "to make benches."

Etymology 1 alt. 1 A long seat, for example, in the park. 2 (context legal English) The people who decide on the verdict; the judiciary. 3 (context legal figuratively English) The place where the judges sit. 4 (context sports English) The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing. n. 1 A long seat, for example, in the park. 2 (context legal English) The people who decide on the verdict; the judiciary. 3 (context legal figuratively English) The place where the judges sit. 4 (context sports English) The place where players (substitutes) and coaches sit when not playing. vb. 1 (context transitive sports English) To remove a player from play. 2 (context transitive figuratively English) To remove someone from a position of responsibility temporarily. 3 (context slang English) To push the victim back on the person behind them who is on their hands and knees, causing them to fall over. 4 (context transitive English) To furnish with benches. 5 (context transitive English) To place on a bench or seat of honour. Etymology 2

n. (context weightlifting English) The weight one is able to bench press, especially the maximum weight capable of being pressed. vb. (context transitive and intransitive colloquial English) To lift by bench pressing Etymology 3

vb. (alternative spelling of bentsh English)

1. n. a long seat for more than one person

2. the reserve players on a team; "our team has a strong bench"

3. a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity (with steep slopes above and below) [syn: terrace]

4. persons who administer justice [syn: judiciary]

5. a strong worktable for a carpenter or mechanic [syn: workbench, work bench]

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

1. v. take out of a game; of players

2. exhibit on a bench; "bench the poodles at the dog show"

Bench or The Bench can refer to:

A weight training bench is a piece of equipment that has a resemblance to a normal (e.g. park) bench, but is designed for use in weight training.

Weight training benches may be of various designs: fixed horizontal, fixed inclined, fixed in a folded position, with one adjustable portion, with two or more adjustable portions, with racks to hold bars, etc. In the limit, the definition of a bench blurs into that of combinations that mix a bench and associated equipment.

Benches are manufactured by many different vendors, in an array of qualities, features, and prices.

A bench is a long seat on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In American public areas, benches are often donated by persons or associations, which may then be indicated on it, e.g. by a small plaque. Benches are used both outdoors and indoors.

Bench (usually branded as "Bench.") is a British clothing brand that is sold worldwide, including in Europe, Canada, and Australia. The company was founded in Manchester, Britain, and specialises in streetwear.

Bench (stylized as bench/ or BENCH/) is a Philippine retail brand of clothing, bags, accessories, footwear and fragrances.

Bench can be used as a figure of speech for a group of people associated with sitting on particular benches. The words chair, seat and desk can be used in similar ways.

• In legal contexts, the bench is the location where judges sit while in court, often specified after the type of court, e.g. county bench (in both UK and US), or one of several bodies of magistrates (elsewhere known by other terms, e.g. a chamber, division or senate) assigned to certain types of litigation, e.g. Kings Bench Division
• The location where members of Parliament sit while in session. More specific types of benches are also metonymic:
  • The front bench comprises senior Government ministers and opposition spokespeople, while junior Members sit on the back benches.
  • Members from the political party or parties which make up the Government sit on the government benches, to the Speaker's right.
  • The government benches occupied by ministers are called the ministerial or treasury benches. These are faced by the opposition benches.
  • Minority parties and independents, who sit on the side, not on the government or opposition benches, are referred to as crossbenchers.
• The location where athletes sit when not in a game.

Bench was one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. It was named for the Bench people, whose homeland lies in the northern part of the woreda. Part of the Bench Maji Zone, Bench was bordered on the south and east by Meinit, on the west by Sheko, and on the north by the Keficho Shekicho Zone. Towns in Bench included Aman and Mizan Teferi. Bench was divided for Debub Bench, Semien Bench and She Bench woredas and Mizan Aman town; southern part of Bench was added to Meinit Goldiya.

Rivers in Bench include the Akobo, which has its source in this woreda.

Bench in legal contexts means simply the location in a courtroom where a judge sits. The historical roots of that meaning come from judges formerly having sat on long seats or benches (freestanding or against a wall) when presiding over a court. In modern courtrooms, the bench is usually an elevated desk area that allows a judge to view the entire courtroom.

The word also has a broader meaning in the law – the term " bench" is a metonym used to describe members of the judiciary collectively, or the judges of a particular court, such as the Queen's Bench or the Common Bench in England and Wales, or the federal bench in the United States. The term is also used when all the judges of a certain court sit together to decide a case, as in the phrase "before the full bench" (also called " en banc"). Additionally, the term is used to differentiate judges ("the bench") from attorneys or barristers (" the bar"). The phrase "bench and bar" denotes all judges and lawyers collectively.

In geomorphology, geography and geology, a bench or benchland is a long, relatively narrow strip of relatively level or gently inclined land that is bounded by distinctly steeper slopes above and below it. Benches can be of different origins and created by very different geomorphic processes.

First, the differential erosion of rocks or sediments of varying hardness and resistance to erosion can create benches. Earth scientists called such benches "structural benches." Second, other benches are narrow fluvial terraces created by the abandonment of a floodplain by a river or stream and entrenchment of the river valley into it. Finally, a bench is also the name of a narrow flat area often seen at the base of a sea cliff that was created by waves or other physical or chemical erosion near the shoreline. These benches are typically referred to as either "coastal benches," "wave-cut benches," or " wave-cut platforms."

In mining, a bench is a narrow, strip of land cut into the side of an open-pit mine. These step-like zones are created along the walls of an open-pit mine for access and mining.