Word.ws English Dictionary

on the bench

on the bench prepositional phrase: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see on, the, bench.

Prepositional phrase

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see on, the, bench.
  2. Presiding over a court.
  3. Not playing in an ongoing game, either waiting to replace an active player or removed from competition by injury, penalty, etc.
  4. (UK, historical) Waiting to command his first vessel and assume the position of post-captain, ensuring further promotion will remain a matter of seniority rather than merit or ability.

Questions about on the bench

What does on the bench mean?
On the bench means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see on, the, bench.
What part of speech is on the bench?
On the bench is a prepositional phrase.

Words near on the bench in the dictionary

  1. on the bash
  2. on the basis of
  3. on the batter
  4. on the beach
  5. on the beat
  6. on the bench
  7. on the bias
  8. on the blanket
  9. on the blink
  10. on the blob
  11. on the block

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on the bench (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “on the bench.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/on_the_bench. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.