prevent from doing something or being in a certain state; "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles"
keep from happening or arising; make impossible; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"
belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler; "golden age of imperial splendor"; "purple tyrant"; "regal attire"; "treated with royal acclaim"; "the royal carriage of a stag's head"
befitting or belonging to an emperor or empress; "imperial palace"
relating to or associated with an empire; "imperial colony"; "the imperial gallon was standardized legally throughout the British Empire"
a flight maneuver; aircraft tips laterally about its longitudinal axis (especially in turning); "the plane went into a steep bank"
a building in which the business of banking transacted; "the bank is on the corner of Nassau and Witherspoon"
an arrangement of similar objects in a row or in tiers; "he operated a bank of switches"
a long ridge or pile; "a huge bank of earth"
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water); "they pulled the canoe up on the bank"; "he sat on the bank of the river and watched the currents"
a slope in the turn of a road or track; the outside is higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force
the funds held by a gambling house or the dealer in some gambling games; "he tried to break the bank at Monte Carlo"
a supply or stock held in reserve for future use (especially in emergencies)
cover with ashes so to control the rate of burning; "bank a fire"
enclose with a bank; "bank roads"
tip laterally; "the pilot had to bank the aircraft"
be in the banking business
act as the banker in a game or in gambling
do business with a bank or keep an account at a bank; "Where do you bank in this town?"
a member of an ancient Jewish sect in Judea in the first century who fought to the death against the Romans and who killed or persecuted Jews who collaborated with the Romans
a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon; "there were bars in the windows to prevent escape"
an obstruction (usually metal) placed at the top of a goal; "it was an excellent kick but the ball hit the bar"
a counter where you can obtain food or drink; "he bought a hot dog and a coke at the bar"
(law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried; "spectators were not allowed past the bar"
a heating element in an electric fire; "an electric fire with three bars"
a horizontal rod that serves as a support for gymnasts as they perform exercises
a submerged (or partly submerged) ridge in a river or along a shore; "the boat ran aground on a submerged bar in the river"
(meteorology) a unit of pressure equal to a million dynes per square centimeter; "unfortunately some writers have used bar for one dyne per square centimeter"
prevent from entering; keep out; "He was barred from membership in the club"
secure with, or as if with, bars; "He barred the door"
a chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king
complete victory
place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game; "Kasparov checkmated his opponent after only a few moves"