noun
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a board that is placed behind something to form or support its back
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a board worn to straighten or support the back, as after surgery
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(in basketball) a flat upright surface supported on a high frame, under which the basket is attached
Etymology
Origin of backboard
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.
But Bryant repeatedly missed his final dunk, a between the legs and off the backboard reverse slam.
From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026
She has seen the video evidence of the two of them, both still in kindergarten, launching basketballs over their heads at the backboard.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
Or, they could lurk around the backboard, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman likes to say, in case his market develops differently than expected.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2024
Embiid had the ball in the lane, threw it off the backboard to pass it to himself, rose up and slammed it down with 2:49 remaining in the second quarter.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 20, 2024
I was throwing that ball as hard as I could against the backboard.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
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.
