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sounding board

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noun
  1. a thin, resonant plate of wood forming part of a musical instrument, and so placed as to enhance the power and quality of the tone.
  2. a structure over or behind and above a speaker, orchestra, etc., to reflect the sound toward the audience.
  3. a board used in floors, partitions, etc., for deadening sound.
  4. a person or persons whose reactions serve as a measure of the effectiveness of the methods, ideas, etc., put forth.
  5. a person or group that propagates ideas, opinions, etc.: He was more of a sounding board than a novelist.

Origin of sounding board

First recorded in 1760–70
Also called soundboard.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sounding board

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Music burst from the sounding-board, odd, wild music, suddenly hopeful.

    The Link

    Alan Edward Nourse

  • This is the sounding-board resonance of the bones of the head and chest.

  • It may be air resonance, or sounding-board resonance, or both combined.

  • It seemed to him to serve as a sounding-board to the fierce noises of the mongrel city.

    In the Wilderness

    Robert Hichens

  • It was hard not to hear what Pushkin said, for the house was like a sounding-board.

    John Marvel, Assistant

    Thomas Nelson Page

British Dictionary definitions for sounding board

sounding board

noun
  1. Also called: soundboard a thin wooden board in a piano or comprising the upper surface of a resonating chamber in a violin, cello, etc, serving to amplify the vibrations produced by the strings passing across itSee also belly (def. 6)
  2. Also called: soundboard a thin screen suspended over a pulpit, stage, etc, to reflect sound towards an audience
  3. a person, group, experiment, etc, used to test a new idea, policy, etc, for acceptance or applicability
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012