billboard

¹

[bil-bawrd, -bohrd]

noun

1. a flat surface or board, usually outdoors, on which large advertisements or notices are posted.

verb (used with object)

1. to place, advertise, proclaim, etc., on or as if on a billboard.

   The movie was billboarded as the year's biggest hit.

billboard

²

[bil-bawrd, -bohrd]

noun

Nautical.

1. anchor bed.

billboard

¹

/ ˈbɪlˌbɔːd /

noun

1. another name for hoarding

billboard

²

/ ˈbɪlˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a fitting at the bow of a vessel for securing an anchor

Word History and Origins

Origin of billboard¹

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; bill ¹ + board

Origin of billboard²

First recorded in 1855–60; bill ³ + board

Word History and Origins

Origin of billboard¹

C19: from _bill ¹ + _board

Origin of billboard²

C19: from _bill ² + _board

Example Sentences

Beneath the towering, neon-lit billboards of Times Square, six of the world's top long jumpers are soaring through the air, turning one of New York's most iconic streets into an unlikely athletics stage.

Read more on Barron's

They tap into the latest methods — radio, television, 1-800 numbers, billboards, bus stop benches and infomercials — to burn their brands into consumers’ consciousness.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He gets the idea after seeing a billboard for “Mrs. Doubtfire” outside the Fox Studios lot and steals facial prosthetics from his father, who happens to be an Oscar-winning makeup artist.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Instead he found work hanging multi-story graphics and billboards on the side of hotels and high-rises on the Sunset Strip and at casinos in Las Vegas.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His face was regularly splashed on big billboards and his songs could be heard in markets and buses, and at college events and social gatherings.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• advertisement 
• placard 
• poster 
• signboard