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• across-the-board
  across-the-board

  adjective

  applying to all employees, members, groups, or categories; general.
• across the board
  across the board

  Applying to all the individuals in a group, as in They promised us an across-the-board tax cut, that is, one applying to all taxpayers, regardless of income. This expression comes from horse racing, where it refers to a bet that covers all possible ways of winning money on a race: win (first), place (second), or show (third). The board here is the notice-board on which the races and betting odds are listed. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

across-the-board

American  

[uh-kraws-thuh-bawrd, -bohrd, uh-kros-] / əˈkrɔs ðəˈbɔrd, -ˈboʊrd, əˈkrɒs- /

adjective

1. applying to all employees, members, groups, or categories; general.

   The across-the-board pay increase means a raise for all employees.

2. (of a bet) covering all possibilities of winning on a given result, especially by placing a combination bet on one horse in a race for win, place, and show.

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across-the-board British  

adjective

1. (of salary increases, taxation cuts, etc) affecting all levels or classes equally

2. horse racing the US term for each way

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across the board Idioms  

1. Applying to all the individuals in a group, as in They promised us an across-the-board tax cut, that is, one applying to all taxpayers, regardless of income. This expression comes from horse racing, where it refers to a bet that covers all possible ways of winning money on a race: win (first), place (second), or show (third). The board here is the notice-board on which the races and betting odds are listed. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

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Etymology

Origin of across-the-board

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

By coincidence, a threatened 15% across-the-board tariff isn’t terribly different, in average rate, from the potpourri of tariffs in effect before the Supreme Court decision.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

The move to an across-the-board tariff of 10%, with carve-outs for some kinds of goods, had already reset the competitive landscape, putting shipments from all countries on even footing.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

And raising enough to replace the income tax would require across-the-board tariffs of about 80% on all imports, it added.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

The president said he would instead impose an across-the-board 10% tariff on imports on global trade partners through an executive order.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

I've never considered myself an across-the-board apologist for the French, but there's a lot to be said for an entire population that never, under any circumstances, talks during the picture.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• sweeping