bench
bench / bench/ • n. 1. a long seat for several people, typically made of wood or stone. 2. a long, sturdy work table used by a carpenter, mechanic, scientist, or other worker. 3. (the bench) the office of judge or magistrate: his appointment to the civil bench. ∎ a judge's seat in a court. ∎ judges or magistrates collectively: rulings from the bench. 4. (the bench) a seat on which sports coaches and players sit during a game when they are not playing. • v. [tr.] withdraw (a sports player) from play; substitute: the coach benched quarterback Randall Cunningham in favor of Jim McMahon. PHRASES: on the bench1. appointed as or in the capacity of a judge or magistrate: he retired after twenty-five years on the bench. 2. acting as one of the possible substitutes in a sports contest.