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snow bank

snow bank

1 1.9
A pile of snow made by wind or plows
  • noun
  • /snoʊ bæŋk/
  • UK
translation icon : banco de nieve
  • For that reason alone, I felt compelled to follow her tracks, up over a snow bank and into the woods.

Examples

  • Attention you hooligans behind that snow bank!

  • You turned in the Canyon to the snow bank where I fell.

  • I slipped off the roof... and I smacked down into a snow bank like a ton of stupidness.

  • That fake snow bank on the Santa Claus side looked comfortable, right next to the Christmas tree, leaning to the left just a tiny bit more than when I'd first seen it, the only imperfection in the whole display.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • After the snowstorm, the children built a fort with the snow bank that formed beside the road.

  • He accidentally drove into the snow bank, which stopped his car from sliding off the road.

  • During their winter holiday, they had fun sliding down the snow bank behind their cabin.

Synonyms

snowbank
vssnow bank
  • UK
8 2.0

A large pile of snow on the ground, often by a road

is the two-word form rather than the single combined form
snowdrift
vssnow bank
  • UK
5 3.4

A deep pile of snow made by wind that can block roads

is used for mounds made either by wind or by plowing
snow mound
vssnow bank
  • UK
2.0

A pile of snow that forms naturally or when people shovel

typically highlights wind or plowing rather than manual shoveling

How Big

snowdrift
  • UK
5 3.4
snow bank
  • UK
1 1.9
snow mound
  • UK
2.0

Surface Forms

snow bank singular
snow banks plural

Morphology

snow + bank

The phrase denotes a bank (raised mound) made of snow, so its meaning is directly compositional from 'snow' (frozen precipitation) + 'bank' (a raised embankment or heap). This noun–noun combination follows a common productive pattern in English and is likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent senses.

Etymology

Snow bank comes from a simple image: snow pushed by wind or by plows into a raised edge called a bank. So it means a 'mound' or 'pile' of snow at the side of a road or field.