banquette

[ bang-ket; locally bang-kit ]

noun

1. a long bench with an upholstered seat, especially one along a wall, as in a restaurant.
2. an embankment for buttressing the base of a levee and forming a berm.
3. Chiefly Coastal Louisiana and East Texas. a sidewalk, especially a raised one of bricks or planks.
4. Fortification. a platform or step along the inside of a parapet, for soldiers to stand on when firing.
5. a ledge running across the back of a buffet.
6. a bench for passengers on top of a stagecoach.

banquette

/ bæŋˈkɛt /

noun

1. an upholstered bench
2. (formerly) a raised part behind a parapet
3. a footbridge

Word History and Origins

Origin of banquette¹

1620–30; < French < Provençal banqueta, equivalent to banc bench ( bank ³ ) + -eta -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of banquette¹

C17: from French, from Provençal banqueta , literally: a little bench, from banc bench; see bank ³

Example Sentences

Grabbing a seat on the gray banquette by the window, I pulled aside a blue curtain and was astounded by the view of peachy-pink clouds as we rolled across the rugged desert.

From Los Angeles Times

Customers occupied almost every table and banquette, many chowing down the restaurant’s signature chop suey — which, like a lot of food served at the Chicago Cafe, is a Chinese American dish unfamiliar in China itself.

From Los Angeles Times

I first saw live belly dancers at my favorite restaurant, Moun of Tunis, on Sunset, where diners sat on low banquettes and ate off brass tables.

From Los Angeles Times

Sink into one of the plush leather banquettes to nosh on steakhouse classics like steak tartare, creamed kale and the most incredible double cheeseburger topped with in-house American cheese and dill aioli.

From Seattle Times

In front of a built-in cabinet, where stacks of plates and linens and bottles of wine from nearby Cassis are stored behind chicken wire, sit heavy, floridly carved banquettes like those on an old-fashioned carousel.

From New York Times