billboard

¹ American  

[bil-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈbɪlˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

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 American  

[bil-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈbɪlˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

Nautical.

1. anchor bed.

---

billboard ¹ British  

/ ˈbɪlˌbɔːd /

noun

1. another name for hoarding

---

billboard ² British  

/ ˈbɪlˌbɔːd /

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of billboard¹

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

Origin of billboard²

First recorded in 1855–60; bill ³ + board

Explanation

A billboard is a giant roadside sign. You might pass several billboards on the highway advertising a car dealership, a restaurant, or anything else someone paid to have on a billboard big enough to be seen by passing cars. When a company decides how to advertise, it may buy Internet ads, TV commercials, newspaper spreads, or billboard advertisements. A billboard is a good way for a business to catch people's attention, because it’s so big and a commuter may drive or walk past it five times a week. The word billboard first appeared in American English in the 1840s, meaning the board or wall where posters or handbills could be pasted. Billboard is also the name of a music magazine.

Example Sentences

The family moved to Georgia, and as a young man Turner began doing odd jobs for the billboard company his father had set up, cutting weeds in front of the signs and helping the painters.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

He began his career by taking over the successful family billboard company when his father took his own life, then bought a radio station in Atlanta, Georgia.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

Smith became visibly angry when describing a billboard in the county promoting ICE as “the bouncers of America.”

From Slate • May 4, 2026

A billboard campaign depicted Barrios in a blue cap and gown with the caption, “Who killed my daughter?”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

After walking for what seemed like a couple of hours, we reached a motel billboard that we had passed only a minute or so before the car broke down.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Related Words

• advertisement
• placard
• poster
• signboard