the bench
noun
1
law
: the place where a judge sits in a court of law
The lawyer asked if he could approach the bench.
2
: a long seat where the members of a sports team wait during a game for a chance to play
He spent most of his season on the bench.
He plays better coming off the bench.
Examples of the bench in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This Quince quilt has officially solidified its place on the bench.
—
Megan Wahn, Architectural Digest, 4 Sep. 2024
When the Dodgers took the field in the bottom of the third, Freeman (who is still playing with a fractured right middle finger), Betts (who played in all 18 of the team’s games since returning from a broken hand) and Hernández (who has played a team-high 133 games this year) stayed on the bench.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2024
Others, still suffering from police injuries or administrative reprimands, might take the bench.
—April Rubin, Axios, 17 Aug. 2024
But the judge—who, before joining the bench in 2019, was a senior trial counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and earlier a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis—refused to toss all of National Experiential’s claims against the city.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for the bench 
Megan Wahn, Architectural Digest, 4 Sep. 2024
When the Dodgers took the field in the bottom of the third, Freeman (who is still playing with a fractured right middle finger), Betts (who played in all 18 of the team’s games since returning from a broken hand) and Hernández (who has played a team-high 133 games this year) stayed on the bench.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2024
Others, still suffering from police injuries or administrative reprimands, might take the bench.
—April Rubin, Axios, 17 Aug. 2024
But the judge—who, before joining the bench in 2019, was a senior trial counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and earlier a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis—refused to toss all of National Experiential’s claims against the city.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for the bench
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the bench.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near the bench
Cite this Entry
“The bench.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20bench. Accessed 14 Sep. 2024.
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