plank

noun

1. A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick.
2. (figuratively)A political issue that is of concern to a faction or a party of the people and the political position that is taken on that issue.

   “Germanization was a central plank of German conservative thinking in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

   “When Mr. Dole had been asked at the Republican convention about the same immigration amendment—one of the more conservative and sensitive planks—he did not oppose it, but said he would have to think long and hard before supporting it.”

   “In the 1970s, a group of ideologically inspired economists captured the ears and minds of politicians. The central plank of their ‘neo-liberal’ model was that growth and development depended on market competitiveness; […]”

   “The party, whose official name (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) translates as Alliance '90/The Greens, grew out of an assortment of social protest movements of the 1980s that eventually unified. Their supporters marched for everything from ending nuclear power to enacting gay rights — while maintaining the key plank of environmental protection.”

3. Physical exercise in which one holds a pushup position for a measured length of time.
4. (British, slang)A stupid person, idiot.
5. That which supports or upholds.

   “His charity is a better plank than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot.”

verb

1. (transitive)To cover something with planking.

   “to plank a floor or a ship”

   “Plank'd with pine.”

2. (transitive)To bake (fish, etc.) on a piece of cedar lumber.

   “Along the lower river, planked shad dinners (baked and broiled) were highly popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”

3. (colloquial, transitive)To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash.

   “to plank money in a wager”

   “Joe planked the money down in the officer of a newspaper editor and awaited results. There weren't any.”

4. (transitive)To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
5. To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing.
6. (intransitive)To pose for a photograph while lying rigid, face down, arms at side, in an unusual place.

   “The woman, known as Claudia, fell from a 2m wall after earlier demonstrating the wrong way to plank on a small stool while holding a bottle of wine. A friend said some guests had not heard of planking and Claudia was demonstrating how ridiculous it was.”

   “Perth man Simon Carville became an internet sensation after he was photographed planking naked in the arms of famous Perth statue the Eliza.”

name

1. A surname.