skateboard

American  

[skeyt-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈskeɪtˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

1. a device for riding upon, usually while standing, consisting of a short, oblong piece of wood, plastic, fiberglass, or aluminum mounted on large roller-skate wheels, used on smooth surfaces and requiring better balance on the part of the rider than ordinary roller skates do.

   Skateboards were pretty “primitive” back in the sixties.

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verb (used without object)

skateboards, present (3rd person singular) skateboarded, past participle, past skateboarding present participle

1. to ride a skateboard.

   She skateboarded during her lunch break nearly every day.

skateboard British  

/ ˈskeɪtˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a narrow board mounted on roller-skate wheels, usually ridden while standing up

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verb

1. (intr) to ride on a skateboard

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• skateboarder
  noun
• skateboarding
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have skateboarded
  perfect
• has skateboarded
  perfect 3rd person singular
• are skateboarding
  progressive
• is skateboarding
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been skateboarding
  perfect progressive
• am skateboarding
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been skateboarding
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• skateboarding
  participle
• skateboards
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had skateboarded
  perfect
• had been skateboarding
  perfect progressive
• was skateboarding
  progressive singular
• were skateboarding
  progressive plural
• skateboarded
  participle
• skateboarded
  simple

Future

• will skateboard
  simple
• will have skateboarded
  perfect
• will be skateboarding
  progressive
• will have been skateboarding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of skateboard

First recorded in 1960–65; skate ¹ + board

Explanation

A skateboard is a board with wheels on the bottom that you ride standing up. If you practice enough, you'll be able to do tricks on your skateboard, or at least ride down the block without falling off. When you ride your skateboard, you can say that you skateboard or skate. The sport or activity you do on a skateboard is skateboarding. The first skateboards, consisting of boxes or boards fitted with wheels from roller skates, appeared in the 1940s. The earliest skateboarders were surfers who wanted a way to practice even when they were on dry land—because of this, they were sometimes called "sidewalk surfers."

Example Sentences

Mark, on a skateboard, and Jacob, also wearing inline skates, followed a little more than an arm’s length behind.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

In 1996, he spotted the land that would become his home while walking his dogs in upscale Carlsbad, the birthplace of skateboard legend Tony Hawk.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

Like a skateboard built out of roller skates, “Vivien’s Wild Ride” is a collection of parts fashioned into something not quite streamlined, but moving.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

He was a member of the Kelvingrove skateboard team, and as a teenager would perform tricks and flips on a regular basis at the Kelvin Wheelies.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025

Poe spins around on his skateboard to face me.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott