Wiktionary
n. 1 a laboratory bench upon which a device is physically tested 2 a virtual simulation of a device for the same purpose
Wikipedia
A test bench or testing workbench is an (often virtual) environment used to verify the correctness or soundness of a design or model, for example, that of a software product.
The term has its roots in the testing of electronic devices, where an engineer would sit at a lab bench with tools for measurement and manipulation, such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, soldering irons, wire cutters, and so on, and manually verify the correctness of the device under test (DUT).
In the context of software or firmware or hardware engineering, a test bench refers to an environment in which the product under development is tested with the aid of software and hardware tools. The suite of testing tools is often designed specifically for the product under test. The software may need to be modified slightly in some cases to work with the test bench but careful coding can ensure that the changes can be undone easily and without introducing bugs.
Usage examples of "test bench".
At the same time, Wendy Tork was at a research computer terminal twenty miles from Anderson, participating in the same exercise, and Campos and Pereira were sitting at a fire control test bench elsewhere at Dream land, also linked to the computer controlling the test.
Bloody great old-fashioned affair, hundreds of switches and warning lights, it was not designed as an operational desk - no one man had a hope of controlling it - but as a comprehensive test bench.
Inside, Briggs and the men were grouped around the heavy box beside the test bench.
They went down to Drive, and Lisele helped the Chief with the horsing of facet plugs up onto his test bench-and then, as he tested one after another, down again.