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an organization that provides various financial services, for example keeping or lending money 银行 I don't have much money in the bank at the end of the month. 月底我在银行里没有多少钱。 I need to go to the bank (= the local office of a bank). 我得去趟银行。 We are now in competition with the big foreign banks. 我们现在正与大型外资银行竞争。 Major banks are increasing the amount they lend to small companies. 大银行正在增加对小公司的贷款。 He got a large loan from the bank. 他从银行贷得一大笔钱。 She got a bank loan to finance the purchase. 她获得了一笔银行贷款来资助购买。 I had a meeting with the bank manager. 我和银行经理开了个会。 He was shot as he tried to foil a bank robbery. 他试图阻止银行抢劫案时中弹了。
Culture banks and bankingbanks and bankingIn Britain, the central bank, which acts as banker for the state and commercial banks, is the Bank of England. The Governor of the Bank of England advises the government on financial matters. The bank sets national interest rates (= the cost of borrowing money) and is responsible for issuing banknotes.The main commercial banks, called clearing banks or high-street banks, are HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, and The Royal Bank of Scotland. These are known as the 'big four' and have branches in many towns, although some branches have closed as more people do their banking online. Former building societies that became banks in the 1990s, such as the Halifax, now compete with them for customers. Other building societies, such as the Nationwide, also offer banking services, as do several supermarkets and stores, such as Tesco or Marks & Spencer. First Direct was one of the first banks to be only phone- and internet-based. People can use a current account and, for savings, a deposit account. The high-street banks offer bank loans for individuals and small businesses. Merchant banks deal with company finance on a larger scale.In the US there are thousands of banks. This is because banks are prevented by law from operating in more than one state. Some banks get round this rule by forming holding companies which own banks with the same names in different states. Unlike British banks, American banks are banks of deposit and credit and do not build up capital. Banking is dominated by large money center banks, such as Chase, which raise money by dealing in the international money markets and lend it to businesses and other banks.The US central bank is the Federal Reserve Bank, often called the Fed. In addition to the national Fed in Washington, DC, there are 12 regional ones. The Fed tells commercial banks how much money they must keep in reserve and decides what rate of interest to charge when lending them money. This affects the rate of interest the commercial banks charge their customers.In the US people keep their accounts in commercial banks which must have a charter (= permission to operate) from the US or a state government. Each state decides whether to allow branch banking, which means allowing customers to do business at any branch of a bank, not just the one where they have their account. The most common accounts are checking and savings accounts. People also keep money in and borrow money from savings and loan associations. In both the UK and the US many people bank online, and rarely go into the local branch of their bank, as they can get cash from cash machines in many places.After the global financial crisis in the years after 2008, banks were strongly criticized for the part they had played in causing the crisis, and their reputation suffered. They are also criticized for giving very large bonuses (= extra payments in addition to salary) to their top managers when this may not be deserved.Extra ExamplesTopics Moneya1I need to get some money out of the bank. 我需要从银行取一些钱。 I'll put half the money in the bank and spend the rest. 我将把一半的钱存入银行，另一半当花销。 Investors lost millions when the bank crashed. 投资者因银行倒闭蒙受了数以百万计的损失。 Many of these banks issue both credit and debit cards. 这些银行很多都是既发行信用卡也发行借记卡。 She has her money in one of the largest savings banks. 她把钱存进了一家大型储蓄银行。 The bank charged him a monthly $5 fee. 银行每月收取他 5 美元的费用。 The bank lent her money to buy a car. 银行贷给她钱买车。 The bond will be priced by the issuing bank. 债券将由开证银行定价。 The company owes the bank more than €4 million. 公司欠银行 400 多万欧元。 The government has refused to bail out the bank. 政府拒绝对该银行进行救助。 A group of ten international banks is to underwrite and sell the bonds. 一个由 10 家国际银行组成的集团将包销这些债券。
a supply of money or things that are used as money in some games, especially those in which gambling is involved （尤指赌博中的）筹码；赌本 an amount of something that is collected; a place where something is stored ready for use 库存；库 a bank of knowledge 知识宝库 a blood/sperm bank 血库；精子库 They intend to establish a bank of information which will be accessible to the public. 他们打算建立一个可以让公众使用的信息库。
a place or container where something may be placed for recycling 银行： 可以放置一些物品进行回收的地方或容器Take old clothes and shoes to the local recycling bank. 把旧衣服和鞋子拿到当地的回收银行。
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the side of a river, canal, etc. and the land near it 岸；河畔 We strolled along the river bank. 我们沿着河岸漫步。 He jumped in and swam to the opposite bank. 他跳下水，游到对岸。 - on the bank/banks of something
a house on the banks of the River Severn (= on land near the river) 塞文河畔的一所房子 It's on the north bank of the Thames. 它位于泰晤士河北岸。 The river burst its banks after heavy rain. 大雨过后，河水决堤了。
Extra ExamplesTopics Geographyb1We could see them waving on the opposite bank. 我们可以看到他们在对岸挥手。 We had a picnic on the banks of the Thames. 我们在泰晤士河畔野餐。
a raised area of ground that slopes at the sides, often at the edge of something or dividing something 斜坡；垄；埂 an artificial slope built at the side of a road, so that cars can drive fast around bends （路面拐弯处为方便车辆快速行驶而筑起的）边坡 a mass of cloud, snow, etc., especially one formed by the wind （尤指风吹到一起的）积云，积雪 Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- huge
- vast
- cloud
- …
- bank of
a row or series of similar objects, especially machines 一排，一系列（同类物品，尤指机器） a bank of lights/computers 一堆灯/电脑 She was faced with a huge bank of switches and buttons. 她面对着一大堆开关和按钮。 She was working a phone bank for the Democrats. 她在为民主党运作电话拜票站。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- huge
- vast
- cloud
- …
- bank of
for money金钱
in gambling赌博
something collected/stored收集／贮存物
for recycling
of river/canal河；水道
slope斜坡
of cloud/snow, etc.云、雪等
of machines, etc.机器等
Word Originnoun senses 4 to 8 Middle English: from Old Norse bakki, of Germanic origin; related to bench. The senses of is ‘set of things in rows’ from French banc, of the same ultimate origin. noun senses 1 to 3 late 15th cent. (originally denoting a money dealer's table): from French banque or Italian banca, from medieval Latin banca, bancus, of Germanic origin; related to other senses of bank and bench.
Idioms
laugh all the way to the bank
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to make a lot of money easily and feel very pleased about it 发大财而喜笑颜开
not break the bank
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if you say something won’t break the bank, you mean that it won’t cost a lot of money, or more than you can afford 花费不太大；支付得起 We can just get a sandwich if you want—that won’t break the bank. 如果你想的话，我们可以只买一个三明治——这样不会破产的。