plank

[ plangk ]
/ plæŋk /

noun

a long, flat piece of timber, thicker than a board.
lumber in such pieces; planking.
something to stand on or to cling to for support.
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)

Idioms for plank

    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.

Origin of plank

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

OTHER WORDS FROM plank

plank·less, adjective plank·like, adjective un·planked, adjective

Words nearby plank

planimetry, planing, planing hull, planish, planisphere, plank, plank floor, plank-sheer, planking, plankter, plankton

British Dictionary definitions for walk the plank (1 of 2)

plank 1
/ (plæŋk) /

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for plank

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

British Dictionary definitions for walk the plank (2 of 2)

plank 2
/ (plæŋk) /

verb

(tr) Scot to hide; cache

Word Origin for plank

C19: a variant of plant

Idioms and Phrases with walk the plank (1 of 2)

walk the plank

Be forced to resign, as in We were sure that Ted hadn't left of his own accord; he'd walked the plank. This metaphoric idiom alludes to a form of execution used in the 17th century, mainly by pirates, whereby a victim was forced to walk off the end of a board placed on the edge of the ship's deck and so drown. [Second half of 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with walk the plank (2 of 2)

plank

see walk the plank.