backboard

[ bak-bawrd, -bohrd ]

/ ˈbækˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

a board placed at or forming the back of anything.

Basketball. a board or other flat vertical surface to which the basket is attached.

Nearby words

backbencher, backbend, backbite, backbiting, backblocks, backboard, backboard splint, backbone, backbreaker, backbreaking, backburn

Origin of backboard

First recorded in 1755–65; back¹ + board

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for backboard

Ramos was still showing no signs of life when they got him on a backboard and into the ambulance.
'Please Don't Die!': The Frantic Battle to Save Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the men jumped down, and fumbled at the iron pins which kept the backboard of the cart in its place.
The Mark Of Cain|Andrew Lang
I helped the girl into the backboard and climbed in beside her.
Harvard Stories|Waldron Kintzing Post
And the men let down the backboard, and they put in all their things: all their poles and the bars and the shovel.
The Doers|William John Hopkins

Already half its weight was supported by the dray's backboard.
McTeague|Frank Norris
Many of the portraits given in this book plainly show the reign of the backboard.
Child Life in Colonial Days|Alice Morse Earle

British Dictionary definitions for backboard

backboard

/ (ˈbækˌbɔːd) /

noun

a board that is placed behind something to form or support its back

a board worn to straighten or support the back, as after surgery

(in basketball) a flat upright surface supported on a high frame, under which the basket is attached

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

Medicine definitions for backboard

backboard

[ băk′bôrd′ ]

n.

A board placed under or behind something to provide firmness or support.

A board placed beneath the body of a person with an injury to the neck or back, used especially in transporting the person in such a way as to avoid further injury.