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.

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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.

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billboard ¹ British  

/ ˈbɪlˌbɔːd /

noun

1. another name for hoarding

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billboard ² British  

/ ˈbɪlˌbɔːd /

noun

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

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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

Its single “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold a half-million copies by September.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

The song quickly climbed to number three on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

From BBC • May 23, 2026

Billboard reports that Jackson is the only artist ever to occupy the top three slots on its album chart simultaneously.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

The genre failed to produce a No. 1 album during the first half of 2023, the longest drought since 1993, according to Billboard.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

But “Apollo Defeats the Earth Mother and Saves the Freaking Universe” ... that sounds like a Billboard chart-topper!’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• advertisement
• placard
• poster
• signboard