centerboard

[ sen-ter-bawrd, -bohrd ]

nounNautical.
  1. a pivoted fin keel that can be swung upward and aft within a watertight trunk when not in use.

Origin of centerboard

1
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; center + board

Words Nearby centerboard

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use centerboard in a sentence

  • When he looked again there was but one, a figure sprawled along the keel, clinging to the centerboard.

    Cap'n Eri | Joseph Crosby Lincoln
  • The centerboard had floated up and projected at the top, and it was about this that Captain Davis' arms were clasped.

    Cap'n Eri | Joseph Crosby Lincoln
  • Jonadab rolled up his shirt sleeves and laid hands on the centerboard stick.

    Cape Cod Stories | Joseph C. Lincoln
  • The table swung to the centerboard-case on hinges, so that when not in use it actually occupied no room at all.

  • French Pete put his head up on the other side of the centerboard, his eyes heavy with sleep, and made them welcome.