bench

noun

ˈbench How to pronounce bench (audio)
Definition of benchnext
1
as in judge
a public official having authority to decide questions of law appealed to the bench for leniency

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in tribunal
an assembly of persons for the administration of justice a ruling from the bench is expected any day now

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bench Jamal Murray is one of the best heatwave scorers in the league, and now their bench, which sucked for years, is a bit deeper. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 The 65-year-old Mattingly was hired last offseason to serve as a bench coach and had another year left on his contract. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Mattingly was under contract as the club's bench coach for 2027 before signing on as full-time manager. — Joe Brandt, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 That game came a day after Wright was named on the senior team’s substitute bench for Liverpool’s 3-1 victory against Crystal Palace at Anfield. — Andy Jones, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bench
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bench
  1. judge
  2. tribunal
  3. court
Noun
  • But in 2025, Congress eliminated that tax — and in early August, a federal judge in Texas ruled that without it, those other measures for extra vetting were unconstitutional, the Idaho Statesman reported at the time.
    — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The same isn’t true if the NCAA wins, since athletes elsewhere can still try their luck with judges near them.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of judge
Noun
  • After the Nuremberg tribunal, the top Nazi leadership were rightly hanged for their crimes, yet even these were not open for public viewing, because that is savagery.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • In Canada, when an Air Canada chatbot invented a bereavement-fare policy, the airline argued the bot was a separate entity responsible for its own actions; the tribunal called the submission remarkable and made the airline pay.
    — Michael Riedl, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of tribunal
Noun
  • Li fled to China, with Xuan and Zhang’s help, according to court filings.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • To assure further compliance, Section 5 of the act required those states to get approval from the Justice Department or a court before making any changes to their electoral systems.
    — Jeffrey Toobin, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of court

Browse Nearby Words

bemusing
bench
benches
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Cite this Entry

“Bench.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bench. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on bench

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bench

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