blackboard

American  

[blak-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈblækˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

1. a sheet of smooth, hard material, especially dark slate, used in schools, lecture rooms, etc., for writing or drawing on with chalk.

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blackboard British  

/ ˈblækˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a hard or rigid surface made of a smooth usually dark substance, used for writing or drawing on with chalk, esp in teaching

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Etymology

Origin of blackboard

First recorded in 1815–25; black + board

Example Sentences

What I miss most is closing my eyes at night, then opening them and it’s morning, that total submersion, yesterday’s problems wiped away like algebraic equations on a junior-high blackboard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

"It may be like chalk on the blackboard, it may grate a little bit, but I am telling you something that is really quite honest," he said on Saturday.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2025

The host walked me to the seating at the back of the restaurant, and we passed a huge blackboard that read, “Leave a message for Mr. G or Lady G.”

From Slate • Nov. 2, 2024

Even though it might be the same observation about the world, about what's on the other side of a blackboard, that feels different coming from the voice of a child.

From Salon • May 22, 2024

Our teachers sat us down, shut us up, and began to talk rapidly at the blackboard, outlining the courses and what would be expected of us in the new Sputnik-inspired curriculum.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam