blackboard

American

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

noun

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

blackboard British

/ ˈblækˌbɔːd /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of blackboard

First recorded in 1815–25; black + board

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.

Looming behind the bluesman is a blackboard, on which a genealogy of the blues has been chalk-drawn in an orderly hand.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 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

One of the first buildings players enter - the local pub, of course - has a blackboard outside advertising today's special.

From BBC • Aug. 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

While the rest of us were worrying over getting our printing to match exactly the example shown on the blackboard, Esther got praise for any kind of mark that resembled the letters.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023