[bench] 
| 1. | a long seat for several persons: a bench in the park. |
| 2. | a seat occupied by an official, esp. a judge. |
| 3. | such a seat as a symbol of the office and dignity of an individual judge or the judiciary. |
| 4. | the office or dignity of various other officials, or the officials themselves. |
| 5. | Sports.
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| 6. | Informal. bench press. |
| 7. | Also called workbench. the strong worktable of a carpenter or other mechanic. |
| 8. | a platform on which animals are placed for exhibition, esp. at a dog show. |
| 9. | a contest or exhibition of dogs; dog show. |
| 10. | Physical Geography. a shelflike area of rock with steep slopes above and below. |
| 11. | Mining. a step or working elevation in a mine. |
| 12. | berm (def. 2). |
| 13. | to furnish with benches. |
| 14. | to seat on a bench or on the bench: an election that benched him in the district court. |
| 15. | to place (a show dog or other animal) in exhibition. |
| 16. | to cut away the working faces of (a mine or quarry) in benches. |
| 17. | Sports. to remove from a game or keep from participating in a game: to be benched because of poor hitting. |
| 18. | on the bench,
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bench
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"The days for 'bench-warmers' with salaries are also past." ["New York Sporting News," Jan. 9, 1892]
on the bench
Presiding as judge in a law court, as in Lawyers are very careful when Judge Brown is on the bench. This usage alludes to the seat occupied by a judge. [Late 1200s]
Waiting for a chance to participate; also, removed from participation. For example, Mary complained that all her colleagues were going to the sales conference while she was left on the bench. This usage comes from baseball and other sports, where players not deemed ready or competent to play sit on a bench watching the game. [Early 1900s]
