aboard
Americanadverb
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on board; on, in, or into a ship, train, airplane, bus, etc..
to step aboard.
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alongside; to the side.
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Baseball. on base.
a homer with two aboard.
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into a group as a new member.
The office manager welcomed him aboard.
preposition
idioms
adverb
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on, in, onto, or into (a ship, train, aircraft, etc)
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nautical alongside (a vessel)
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a warning to passengers to board a vehicle, ship, etc
Etymology
Origin of aboard
1350–1400; Middle English abord ( e ) ( see a- 1, board), perhaps conflated with Middle French a bord
Explanation
The adverb aboard means on board, as in on a ship, train or plane. Usually the captain will welcome you aboard with a brief speech if you're lucky — or a long one if you're not. Aboard comes from the French phrase à bord, which has the same meaning as the English word — on board. If you were just hired, your new manager might say "Welcome aboard" (the figurative company train). The phrase "All aboard!" is said as a warning before departure, especially before a ship or train leaves. It means, in essence: haul your keister up here quick or you'll be left behind!
Vocabulary lists containing aboard
Words Every Pirate Should Know
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"The Star-Spangled Banner" and "The Flag We Love"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The state’s coast is best experienced at sea level, aboard smaller boats run by locals rather than from behind the glass of a luxury liner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
One dog aboard the vessel also died in the accident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Nasa astronaut Anil Menon and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
SpaceX on Thursday plans to send 20 V3 Starlink satellites aboard Starship for the first time.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
We climbed aboard the clattering omnibus just as it pulled up, and it carried us all the way to the southern edge of the city, where the prairie grasses grew tall and abundant.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
