Bank on it and take it to the bank are two versions of an idiom. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom bank on it or take it to the bank, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences.
Bank on it and take it to the bank are both idioms that refer to something that one can depend on; they may describe an action, idea, statement, or promise that one can assume to be true and accurate. The expression bank on it, to mean to have faith that something is true and dependable, came into use around the turn of the twentieth century. The expression take it to the bank came into use mid-twentieth century and was popularized by an American television show, Baretta, which aired during the 1970s. The idea is that the thing being described can be counted on as dependably as the money that is locked in a bank safe.
Examples
I suppose that would be a good moment to debut some sort of secret, but I wouldn’t bank on it. (Forbes)
Reusing food waste instead of dumping it into landfills may seem like an obvious improvement from an environmental perspective, and producers bank on it by advertising their products with slogans such as “Fight climate change from your kitchen.” (Washington Post)
“If Tracy Read says something, I would take it to the bank,” Denman said. (Texas Monthly)
Unfortunately, you can take it to the bank that the Biden administration has no intention of pursuing the “invest” part of the slogan, unless you count social-welfare initiatives as national-security investments. I count them as socialism. (Wall Street Journal)
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