Plank Meaning
/ˈplæŋk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick.
nounA 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.
Sentence Examples
He hammered nails into the plank.
The plank froze to the ground.
The mutineer was made to walk the plank.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The carpenter cut a long wooden ____ to fix the broken floorboard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The carpenter nailed each ____ to the frame carefully to ensure the floor was level and secure.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The carpenter cut a long wooden ____ to fix the broken floorboard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The carpenter nailed each ____ to the frame carefully to ensure the floor was level and secure.