banco
A1Formal, Informal, Technical (depending on sense)
Definition
Meaning
A financial institution where people and businesses keep, borrow, and invest money.
A long, raised mass or slope (e.g., of earth, cloud, or snow); the side of a river; a supply or reserve (e.g., a blood bank); the tilting of an aircraft in flight.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The primary financial sense is high-frequency. The 'river' sense is common in physical geography. The 'store/reserve' sense is productive (data bank, gene bank). The 'tilt' sense is specific to aviation. Homophone: 'bank' (verb for financial institution) and 'bank' (verb for tilting) are identical in form.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal differences for core meanings. Some minor variations: 'High street bank' (UK) vs. 'Main street bank' (US). Banking terminology for specific accounts/services may vary.
Connotations
Similar. Both can imply trust/institution (positive) or impersonal bureaucracy (negative) in financial sense.
Frequency
Both core senses (financial and geographical) are equally frequent in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
bank at [institution] (She banks at Barclays.)bank [money] (He banked the cheque.)bank on [someone/something] (We're banking on good weather.)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “break the bank”
- “laugh all the way to the bank”
- “bank on something/someone”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
The primary context. Refers to institutions, transactions, loans, and monetary policy.
Academic
Used in economics, finance, geography, and biology (e.g., gene bank).
Everyday
Common for discussing personal finances, riverside locations, or saving things.
Technical
Specific meanings in aviation (to bank a plane), computing (memory bank), and medicine (organ bank).
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- I need to bank this cheque before the weekend.
- The plane began to bank sharply to the left.
American English
- I'll bank the deposit on my way home.
- The pilot had to bank the aircraft to avoid the storm.
adverb
British English
- The road curved bankingly around the hill.
American English
- The motorcycle leaned bank into the turn.
adjective
British English
- It was a bank holiday, so all the shops were closed.
- He provided his bank details for the transfer.
American English
- The bank statement showed several unauthorized charges.
- We're waiting for bank approval on the loan.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I go to the bank every Friday.
- The children played on the river bank.
- She has a bank account.
- We need to get a loan from the bank to buy a car.
- The fog lay in a thick bank over the fields.
- You can bank on him to be late.
- The central bank is expected to raise interest rates.
- They've established a seed bank to preserve biodiversity.
- The cyclists took the corner at speed, banking their bikes steeply.
- The scandal caused a run on the bank, threatening its liquidity.
- The artist utilised a whole bank of monitors for her digital installation.
- Critics argue that the government is banking too heavily on untested technology.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a PIGGY BANK. A small 'bank' for saving coins. This connects the idea of a container/store (like a river bank contains water) to the financial institution.
Conceptual Metaphor
STORAGE IS A BANK (e.g., data bank, blood bank). TRUST IS A BANK (you 'bank on' someone).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse 'bank' (банк) with 'bench' (скамья).
- The verb 'to bank' (положить в банк) is different from 'to bankrupt' (обанкротить).
- The geographical 'bank' (берег) is mainly for rivers/lakes, not seas (use 'coast' or 'shore').
Common Mistakes
- Using 'bank' for the seashore (use 'coast').
- Confusing 'bank on' (rely on) with 'depend on' (though similar).
- Incorrect preposition: 'I went to the bank for get cash.' (Correct: '...to get cash' or '...to withdraw cash').
Practice
Quiz
What does it mean to 'bank on' someone?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, while the financial sense is most common, 'bank' can refer to a river's edge, a store/collection of things (like a blood bank), or the tilt of an aircraft.
'Bank' is typically for rivers and lakes. 'Shore' is for any body of water (sea, lake, river). 'Coast' is specifically where land meets the sea.
Yes. As a verb, it can mean: 1) to deposit money in a bank, 2) to have an account at a bank, 3) to tilt (an aircraft, vehicle, or cycle), and 4) in the phrase 'bank on', meaning to rely on.
Primarily a UK term for a public holiday when banks and most businesses are closed. In the US, similar days are called 'federal holidays' or 'public holidays'.