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bank

/ˈbæŋk/
nounverb

BANK meaning: a financial institution, a branch of one, or a controller of a card game; the four-letter word scores 10 Scrabble points.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. An institution where one can place and borrow money and take care of financial affairs.

  2. A branch office of such an institution.

  3. An underwriter or controller of a card game.

  4. A fund from deposits or contributions, to be used in transacting business; a joint stock or capital.

Verb 4 meanings

  1. To deal with a bank or financial institution, or for an institution to provide financial services to a client.

    “He banked with Barclays.”

  2. To put into a bank (financial institution).

    “I’m going to bank the money.”

  3. To store in a bank (storage).

  4. To provide banking services to.

    “They proposed an ambitious plan to bank people in remote rural communities.”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English banke, from Middle French banque, from Italian banca (“counter, moneychanger's bench or table”), from Lombardic bank (“bench, counter”), from Proto-West Germanic *banki, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“bench, counter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to turn, curve, bend, bow”).

Similar and opposite words

Similar
bankerbanquebarlineranktiergridpanel

Most often, a bank is where people deposit or borrow money and manage financial affairs. The word also names a local branch of that institution, and it has a less familiar card-game sense: an underwriter or controller. That range makes BANK more than a money term, while its compact spelling gives it a 10-point base Scrabble score.

BANK at a glance

  • BANK has four letters and a base Scrabble value of 10 points.
  • Its B is worth 3 points, while its K is worth 5.
  • TANK and RANK are familiar words made by changing one letter.
  • BANK rhymes with THANK, FRANK, BLANK and PLANK.

Bank meaning and everyday uses

The main bank meaning is a financial institution that accepts deposits, lends money and handles other financial business. A bank can also mean one branch office of that institution, so the same word names both the organization and a place where customers visit.

In card games, BANK has a separate role: it can mean an underwriter or controller of the game. That sense is narrower than the financial one, but it is a useful reminder that a familiar word can carry a specialized meaning.

BANK is recognized in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE. Its everyday familiarity makes the financial sense easy to recall; the card-game definition is the one more likely to surprise you.

Bank meaning, score and nearby words

BANK scores 10 points before any board-square bonuses. The K supplies half of that total at 5 points, and the B adds 3; A and N contribute 1 point each. On a premium square, place the high-value K carefully rather than assuming every letter contributes equally.

Changing one tile produces 24 recorded one-letter neighbours. The familiar options include BACK, BAND, BANG, BARK, BUNK, TANK and RANK. Several keep the final K and swap an earlier letter, while TANK and RANK replace the opening B.

BANK also shares its ending sound with words such as TANK, RANK, SANK and THANK. For a puzzle clue, separate sound from spelling: those words rhyme, but only TANK and RANK are one-letter changes from BANK. The anagram entry is NABK; it is not an everyday alternative to the original word.

Rhymes with bank

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest

Questions people ask

What does bank mean in a card game?
In a card game, bank can mean the underwriter or controller of the game. This specialized use differs from the everyday meaning of a financial institution, though both senses are part of BANK’s definition.
How many points is BANK in Scrabble?
BANK is worth 10 points before board bonuses in Scrabble. The K is the most valuable tile at 5 points, followed by B at 3; A and N are worth 1 point apiece.
Which words are one letter away from BANK?
TANK and RANK are familiar one-letter neighbours of BANK, and BACK, BAND, BANG and BARK are other examples. The full neighbour set contains 24 entries, including less familiar words, so check your game’s word list before playing an unusual option.

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