Dictionary

plank en · NOUN

Pronunciation

/ˈpleɪ̯ŋk/ (Canada, US)
(US) audio non-æ-raising
/ˈplæŋk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
[ˈpʰlæŋk] (US) without æ-raising
[ˈpʰleɪ̯ŋk] (Canada, US)
/ˈplæŋk/ Australia, bad–lad split, possible æ-raising
[ˈpʰlaŋk] (British, Southern, Standard)
[ˈpʰläŋk] (Northern-England, Scotland)
/ˈplaŋk/ (British, Southern, Standard)
[ˈpʰlæːŋk] Australia, bad–lad split, possible æ-raising
/ˈplɛ̃ŋk/ (Canada, US)
/ˈplæŋk/ (US) without æ-raising
[ˈpʰle̞ːŋk] Australia, bad–lad split, possible æ-raising
[ˈpʰlɛ̃ŋk] (Canada, US)
/ˈplaŋk/ (Northern-England, Scotland)
[ˈpʰlæŋk] (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English plank, planke, borrowed from Old French planke, Old Northern French planque (compare French planche, from Old French planche), from Vulgar Latin planca, from palanca, from Latin phalanga. The Latin term derives from the Ancient Greek φάλαγξ (phálanx), so it is thus a doublet of phalange and phalanx. Compare also the doublets planch, planche, and plancha, borrowed later from Middle French, Modern French, and Spanish, respectively.

Meanings

A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick. ▸ A flat piece of wood on which to cook fish, so that the wood provides flavor and helps to produce a pleasing texture.
- A dish called "plank salmon" likely includes a salmon filet cooked on a plank.
A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick. ▸ An object made of planks; planking.
A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick. ▸ A solid and substantial portion of an ingredient with a flat side, cooked and served whole.
- That dish is served with a plank of cauliflower.
A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick. ▸ Physical exercise in which one holds a position (usually with a flat back, like a plank) for a measured length of time.
(figuratively) A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick. ▸ A political issue that is of concern to a faction or a party of the people and the political position that is taken on that issue.
- Germanization was a central plank of German conservative thinking in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- When Mr. Dole had been asked at the Republican convention about the same immigration amendment—one of the more conservative and sensitive planks—he did not oppose it, but said he would have to think long and hard before supporting it. 1996 August 24, Frank Bruni, “Dole Rejects a Party Plank”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- In the 1970s, a group of ideologically inspired economists captured the ears and minds of politicians. The central plank of their ‘neo-liberal’ model was that growth and development depended on market competitiveness; […] 2011, Guy Standing, chapter 1, in The Precariat, Bloomsbury Publishing, published 2016, →ISBN:
- The party, whose official name (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) translates as Alliance '90/The Greens, grew out of an assortment of social protest movements of the 1980s that eventually unified. Their supporters marched for everything from ending nuclear power to enacting gay rights — while maintaining the key plank of environmental protection. 2025 February 24, Rina Goldenberg, “A guide to Germany's political parties”, in Deutsche Welle:
(UK, slang) A stupid person, idiot.
That which supports or upholds.
- His charity is a better plank than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot. 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
planks	Number=Plur		lexicographic

Translations (115)

sh fòsna (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · gl madeiro (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sk doska (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · fa تخته (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cmn 棒式 (physical exercise) · esu tuskaq (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · bg пла́нка (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cy estyll (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ga planc (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · da planke (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · mos rao-peoko (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · it asse (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · izh plankku (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · uk пла́нка (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · lt lenta (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sh tȃlpa (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sh та̑лпа (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ka ფიცარი (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ja 厚板 (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ru пункт програ́ммы (political issue) · cmn 板 (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · es artículo (political issue) · jv blabak (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · fr gainage (physical exercise) · sh пла̑нка (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · fr planche (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · es madero (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · la tabula (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sv planka (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · kpv пӧв (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ltg goldskaļs (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · kaw balabag (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cs fošna (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · hu deszka (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · tpi plangk (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sq dhogë (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ar عَارِضَة (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ro scândură (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · fi lankku (physical exercise) · sk foršňa (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · grc σανίς (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · bth papan (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · hy տախտակ (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · pl deska (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sh фо̀сна (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ru доска́ (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · fi lankku (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · unm sikaxkw (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · hu palló (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sl deska (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · th กระดาน (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · tr kalas (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · pt ponto de contenção (political issue) · cs prkno (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · el σανίδα (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · nn planke (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · km ក្ដារ (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · eo tabulo (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · mn самбар (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ms papan (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ko 플랭크 (physical exercise) · ota تخته (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · io planko (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · it tavola (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ko 판자 (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · mi paparākau (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · id papan (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ja 板 (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · oj nabagisag (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · is planki (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · csb dél (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sh plȃnka (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · es tablón (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · he קֶרֶשׁ (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · lv dēlis (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · tr plank (physical exercise) · el μέρος πολιτικού προγράμματος (political issue) · lv galds (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cmn 木板 (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · rif tafrewt (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · pt prancha (physical exercise) · pt tábua (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · et laud (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ru пла́нка (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · mk та́лпа (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ja プランク (physical exercise) · nb planke (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · uk до́шка (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cmn 板子 (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · mh aļaļ (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ru пла́нка (physical exercise) · es plancha (physical exercise) · ga plainc (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · de Schwerpunkt (political issue) · pt prancha (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · fi periaate (political issue) · mi paraki (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · pl deska (physical exercise) · mk шти́ца (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · nl plank (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · be пла́нка (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · ga clár (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · de Planke (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · sv programpunkt (political issue) · sl ploh (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · fo planki (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · be до́шка (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · hu programpont (political issue) · cmn 平板支撐 /平板支撑 (physical exercise) · cy astell (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cs deska (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cu дъска (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · bo པང་ལེབ (long, broad and thick piece of timber) · cs prkno (physical exercise) · bg дъска́ (long, broad and thick piece of timber)

wikidata: Q3094383

plank en · VERB

Pronunciation

/ˈpleɪ̯ŋk/ (Canada, US)
(US) audio non-æ-raising
/ˈplæŋk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
[ˈpʰlæŋk] (US) without æ-raising
[ˈpʰleɪ̯ŋk] (Canada, US)
/ˈplæŋk/ Australia, bad–lad split, possible æ-raising
[ˈpʰlaŋk] (British, Southern, Standard)
[ˈpʰläŋk] (Northern-England, Scotland)
/ˈplaŋk/ (British, Southern, Standard)
[ˈpʰlæːŋk] Australia, bad–lad split, possible æ-raising
/ˈplɛ̃ŋk/ (Canada, US)
/ˈplæŋk/ (US) without æ-raising
[ˈpʰle̞ːŋk] Australia, bad–lad split, possible æ-raising
[ˈpʰlɛ̃ŋk] (Canada, US)
/ˈplaŋk/ (Northern-England, Scotland)
[ˈpʰlæŋk] (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Meanings

(transitive) To cover something with planking.
- to plank a floor or a ship
- Plank'd with pine. 1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
(transitive) To bake (fish, etc.) on a piece of cedar lumber.
- Along the lower river, planked shad dinners (baked and broiled) were highly popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 1998, Richard Gerstell, American Shad in the Susquehanna River Basin, page 147:
(colloquial, transitive) To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash.
- Joe planked the money down in the officer of a newspaper editor and awaited results. There weren't any. 1963, George Blaikie, Scandals of Australia's Strange Past, Adelaide: Rigby Limited, page 117:
- to plank money in a wager
(transitive) To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing.
(intransitive) To pose for a photograph while lying rigid, face down, arms at side, in an unusual place.
- The woman, known as Claudia, fell from a 2m wall after earlier demonstrating the wrong way to plank on a small stool while holding a bottle of wine. A friend said some guests had not heard of planking and Claudia was demonstrating how ridiculous it was. 2011 May 23, “Party finishes up in plonking after attempt at planking in Kingsford”, in Herald Sun:
- Perth man Simon Carville became an internet sensation after he was photographed planking naked in the arms of famous Perth statue the Eliza. 2011 May 24, “Tourists snapped planking at iconic landmarks around the world”, in The Australian:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Source
planking	Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
planked	Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
planked	Tense=Past	lexicographic
planks	Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres	lexicographic

Translations (13)

hu pallóz (to cover something with planking) · fi latoa (to lay down, as on a plank or table) · mh aļaļ (to cover something with planking) · fi loimuttaa (to bake on a piece of lumber) · hu deszkáz (to cover something with planking) · hu bedeszkáz (to cover something with planking) · el στρώνω (to cover something with planking) · pt entabuar (to cover something with planking) · es entablar (to cover something with planking) · el σανιδώνω (to cover something with planking) · mh aļaļ (to lay down, as on a plank or table) · fi lankuttaa (to cover something with planking) · pt entabular (to cover something with planking)

plank en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

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Deriveds

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Translations (115)

plank en · VERB

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

Forms

Translations (13)