🪑 A long seat 🏀 Reserve players ⚖️ Judges in court 🔧 A worktable 🚫 To remove from game 🏋️ To lift weights ⛰️ A flat area 🐕 To show an animal 🗂️ To set aside

to bench

14 6.3

To lift weights while lying on a long flat seat used in gyms

verb
/bɛnʧ/

Informal

: hacer press de banca

How much can you bench?
bench press

Just maybe push up, work some bench, right, whatever you can do.

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Examples

He played quarterback, point guard, or pitcher, depending on the season, and could bench-press 350 pounds.

Fiction book (1999)
She can bench-press 200 pounds.

Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
Just maybe push up, work some bench, right, whatever you can do.

Club Shay Shay
I just wanted you to bench press me but you never Why?
I know I can bench more than that!

Fiction book (1994)
Seriously, I can bench press you.

Blog text (3)
I bet I could bench-press you.

Love Again (2023)
I can bench-press around two hundred pounds.

Fiction book (1995)
"You bench-press two hundred pounds, Chris."

Fiction book (1995)
He can easily bench press 200 pounds at the gym every week.

Synonyms

to press

vsto bench

Specialized

68 4.1

Lift a weight by pushing it up with your arms while standing or lying down

applies only to lifts done while lying down rather than to general upward lifts

Idioms

to ride the bench

Jargon

2 7.5

To stay on the sidelines and not play in a game

to warm the bench

Informal

1 7.0

A player who sits on the side and does not play in games

Phrasal Verbs

to bench the project

6.3

To stop work on a project for a time until things change

to bench this idea

7.6

Delay talking about an idea until later

Compounds

park bench

20 1.0

A long seat with a back in a park for people to sit

bench warrant

Formal

4 8.1

An order from a judge that allows police to arrest someone and bring them to court

bench press

4 3.0

An exercise where a person lies on their back on a bench and pushes weight up from the chest

lab bench

Specialized

2 2.8

A long sturdy table in a lab used for experiments

bench warmer

Informal

1 6.7

A player on a sports team who rarely plays

flat bench

1 3.1

A strong, flat surface you lie on to lift weights

front bench

Jargon

1 6.5

Seats in parliament for government ministers or top opposition members

bench clamp

5.3

A tool that holds a piece on a workbench firmly while you cut or drill

bench hook

8.8

A wooden block attached to a bench that holds wood steady while you cut or shape it

bench jockey

Informal

9.3

A person who supports and cheers for the team from the sideline

bench lathe

Specialized

8.0

A small machine fixed to a workbench that turns metal or wood for careful shaping

bench mark

6.4

A metal or stone mark in the ground that shows a known height to measure land

bench press

Specialized

5.6

A small press fixed to a workbench for punching or shaping metal

bench vise

Specialized

6.5

A tool fixed to a workbench with two parts that press to hold things while you work

bench-warmer

Informal

5.8

A player who rarely plays and stays on the bench during games

church bench

1.4

A long wooden seat with a back for people to sit in a church

laboratory bench

Specialized

3.7

A strong table in a lab where people do experiments

incline bench press

Specialized

5.5

An exercise pressing a barbell or dumbbells up on a sloping bench to work the upper chest

optical bench

Specialized

7.5

A long fixed bar that holds lenses and mirrors for experiments

woodworking bench

Specialized

3.7

A strong table that holds wood while you cut or shape it

Surface Forms

bench infinitive

benched past

benched past participle

benching present participle

benches third person singular

Etymology

Bench as a verb for lifting weights comes from the exercise called the bench press, which uses a special bench; to 'bench' is to press weights while lying on that bench. So when people say they can bench 200 pounds, they mean they can do the bench press with that weight.