noun
plank
PLANGK
noun
1
A long, flat, thick piece of sawn timber.
"He nailed a plank across the gap to make a bridge."
"The old jetty was built from weathered wooden planks."
2
A specific policy or issue that forms part of a political party's platform.
"Tax reform was a key plank of her election campaign."
3
An exercise in which a person holds a rigid, face-down position supported on the forearms and toes.
"He held a plank for two minutes straight to strengthen his core."
verb
1
To lie face down, rigid, arms at the sides, in an unusual or incongruous location, typically for a photo.
"They planked on the office desks as a joke for the photo."
How to Use Plank
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA thick wooden board; also a core-strengthening exercise, and a policy point in politics.
Common pairings
wooden plank
hold a plank
party plank
walk the plank
Word Forms
planked past tense, planks plural, Planks plural, planks singular
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Etymology
From Old French planke, ultimately from Latin phalanga, itself borrowed from Greek phalanx — the same root that gives us "phalanx."