plank

[ plangk ]

noun

1. a long, flat piece of timber, thicker than a board.
2. lumber in such pieces; planking.
3. something to stand on or to cling to for support.
4. any one of the stated principles or objectives comprising the political platform of a party campaigning for election:

   They fought for a plank supporting a nuclear freeze.

verb (used with object)

1. to lay, cover, or furnish with planks.
2. to bake or broil and serve (steak, fish, chicken, etc.) on a wooden board.
3. plunk ( def 2 ).

plank

¹

/ plæŋk /

verb

1. tr to hide; cache

plank

²

/ plæŋk /

noun

1. a stout length of sawn timber
2. something that supports or sustains
3. one of the policies in a political party's programme
4. walk the plank
   to be forced by pirates to walk to one's death off the end of a plank jutting out over the water from the side of a ship
5. slang.
   a stupid person; idiot

verb

1. to cover or provide (an area) with planks
2. to beat (meat) to make it tender
3. to cook or serve (meat or fish) on a special wooden board

Other Words From

• plankless adjective
• planklike adjective
• un·planked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plank¹

1275–1325; Middle English planke < Old North French < Latin planca board, plank. See planch

Word History and Origins

Origin of plank¹

C19: a variant of plant

Origin of plank²

C13: from Old Norman French planke, from Late Latin planca board, from plancus flat-footed; probably related to Greek plax flat surface

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. walk the plank,
   1. to be forced, as by pirates, to walk to one's death by stepping off a plank extending from the ship's side over the water.
   2. to relinquish something, as a position, office, etc., under compulsion:

      We suspect that the new vice-president walked the plank because of a personality clash.

More idioms and phrases containing plank

see walk the plank .

Example Sentences

In October, a Cal State L.A. student who turned out to be a De León staffer asked at a meet-and-greet how she felt about police abolitionism, a plank of the DSA.

From Los Angeles Times

Harris' campaign pushed marijuana legalization as a plank of their campaign in its closing days.

From Salon

“That gym experience kept me in a mental plank for a long time where I was able to just focus on process. And we’re two actors who love process and the physicality of characters,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

This plank of his platform has held for years as the president-elect has campaigned across the country.

From Salon

They have generally formed a key plank of the Democratic coalition but Republicans have been eating into that support.

From BBC

Related Words

• lumber
• platform
• slab
• timber