aboveboard
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of aboveboard
1610–20; above + board; so called from the requirement of keeping the hands above the table or board in order to discourage possible cheating at cards
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.
She also said there was “a lot of ethics back and forth — of lawyers and all of that, to make sure that we were aboveboard and that everything is kosher.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
I just want to make sure everything is aboveboard and done properly.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026
He and his colleagues have instead designed an aboveboard playbook for reducing tariffs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 31, 2025
"China never interferes in other countries' internal affairs and always acts in an open and aboveboard manner," the Chinese embassy in London has previously said.
From BBC • Oct. 29, 2025
For William, who liked to be aboveboard in everything, this posed ethical dilemmas.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
