bench press

noun

: a lift or exercise in which a weight is raised by extending the arms upward while lying on a bench
bench-press transitive verb

Examples of bench press in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The feet-up bench press is similar to a bench press. Dominique Fluker, Essence, 8 Mar. 2024 These days, making the most of yourself translates to ketosis-ing your body and spending the wee hours before and after work doing bench presses. Raven Smith, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2024 Hennessey’s record occurred on her bench press of 89 pounds. Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 If someone’s doing heavy back squats, bench presses, rows, or whatever, wait until they’re done with their set to return or remove any plates from their cage. Christa Sgobba, SELF, 2 Jan. 2024 Just think of performing a free-weight bench press at the gym. Mark Ewing, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 Sure, a bench press can target your chest and a lat pulldown will fire up your back, but to hit both spots at once, the dumbbell pullover may be just your ticket. Jenny McCoy, SELF, 18 Oct. 2023 A week later, a 28-pound bench press bar collided with an employee’s head, causing a concussion, but staff returned the worker to their job operating heavy machinery. WIRED, 16 Aug. 2023 Jewell has seen the transformation in Kennedy's Brophy career, seeing a kid who was always playing basketball who could only bench press 65 pounds and clean 95 pounds to now benching 245 pounds and cleaning 255. Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 25 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bench press.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bench press was in 1953

Dictionary Entries Near bench press

Cite this Entry

“Bench press.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bench%20press. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on bench press

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!