board

American  

[bawrd] / bɔrd /

noun

1. a piece of wood sawed thin, and of considerable length and breadth compared with the thickness.

2. a flat slab of wood or other material for some specific purpose.

   a cutting board.

3. a sheet of wood, cardboard, paper, etc., with or without markings, for some special use, as a checkerboard or chessboard.

4. boards,

   1. Theater. the stage.

      The play will go on the boards next week.

   2. the wooden fence surrounding the playing area of an ice-hockey rink.

   3. a racing course made of wood, used especially for track meets held indoors.

      This will be his first time running on boards.

5. Bookbinding. stiff cardboard or other material covered with paper, cloth, or the like to form the covers for a book.

6. Building Trades. composition material made in large sheets, as plasterboard or corkboard.

7. a table, especially to serve food on.

8. daily meals, especially as provided for pay.

   The charge at the time was twenty dollars a day for room and board.

9. an official group of persons who direct or supervise some activity.

   The motion was approved by the board of directors.

10. Nautical.

    1. the side of a ship.

    2. one leg, or tack, of the course of a ship beating to windward.

11. Railroads. a fixed signal or permanent sign regulating traffic.

12. a flat surface, as a wall or an object of rectangular shape, on which something is posted, as notices or stock-market quotations.

    a bulletin board.

13. surfboard.

14. Computers.

    1. circuit board.

    2. plugboard.

15. Electronics. circuit board.

16. a switchboard.

17. Australian.

    1. the area of a woolshed where shearing is done.

    2. a crew of shearers working in a particular woolshed.

    3. sheep about to be sheared.

18. Obsolete. the edge, border, or side of anything.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover or close with boards (often followed by up orover ).

   They just boarded up the house and moved away.

   We had to board over the well to keep animals from getting in there.

2. to furnish with meals, or with meals and lodging, especially for pay.

   They boarded him for $50 a week.

3. to go on board of or enter (a ship, train, etc.).

4. to allow on board.

   We will be boarding passengers in approximately ten minutes.

5. to come up alongside (a ship), as to attack or to go on board.

   The pirate ship boarded the clipper.

6. Obsolete. to approach; accost.

verb (used without object)

1. to take one's meals, or be supplied with food and lodging at a fixed price.

   Several of us board at the same rooming house.

2. Ice Hockey. to hit an opposing player with a board check.

idioms

1. on the boards, in the theatrical profession.

   The family has been on the boards since grandfather's time.

2. tread the boards. tread.

3. go by the board,

   1. to go over the ship's side.

   2. to be destroyed, neglected, or forgotten.

      All his devoted labor went by the board.

4. across the board,

   1. Racing. betting on a horse or dog to finish first, second, or third, so that any result where a selection wins, places, or shows enables the bettor to collect.

   2. applying to or affecting every person, class, group, etc.

5. on board, Also

   1. on or in a ship, plane, or other vehicle.

      There were several movie stars on board traveling incognito.

   2. Baseball. on base.

      There were two men on board as the next batter came up.

   3. present and functioning as a member of a team or organization.

   4. in agreement; aligned (usually followed bywith ).

      If we want to achieve our goals, we have to get the CEO on board with our plan.

board British  

/ bɔːd /

noun

1. a long wide flat relatively thin piece of sawn timber

2. 1. a smaller flat piece of rigid material for a specific purpose

      ironing board

   2. ( in combination )

      breadboard

      cheeseboard

3. a person's food or meals, provided regularly for money or sometimes as payment for work done (esp in the phrases full board, board and lodging )

4. archaic a table, esp one used for eating at, and esp when laden with food

5. 1. (sometimes functioning as plural) a group of people who officially administer a company, trust, etc

      a board of directors

   2. ( as modifier )

      a board meeting

6. any other committee or council

   a board of interviewers

7. (plural) the acting profession; the stage

8. short for blackboard chessboard notice board printed circuit board springboard surfboard

9. stiff cardboard or similar material covered with paper, cloth, etc, used for the outside covers of a book

10. a flat thin rectangular sheet of composite material, such as plasterboard or chipboard

11. 1. a list on which stock-exchange securities and their prices are posted

    2. informal the stock exchange itself

12. nautical

    1. the side of a ship

    2. the leg that a sailing vessel makes on a beat to windward

13. the part of the floor of a sheep-shearing shed, esp a raised part, where the shearers work

14. the killing floor of an abattoir or freezing works

15. 1. any of various portable surfaces specially designed for indoor games such as chess, backgammon, etc

    2. ( as modifier )

       board games

16. 1. a set of hands in duplicate bridge

    2. a wooden or metal board containing four slots, or often nowadays, a plastic wallet, in which the four hands are placed so that the deal may be replayed with identical hands

17. the hull of a sailboard, usually made of plastic, to which the mast is jointed and on which a windsurfer stands

18. See above board

19. to be in disuse, neglected, or lost

    in these days courtesy goes by the board

20. on or in a ship, boat, aeroplane, or other vehicle

21. 1. (in gambling) to win all the cards or money

    2. to win every event or prize in a contest

22. to accept (new ideas, situations, theories, etc)

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verb

1. to go aboard (a vessel, train, aircraft, or other vehicle)

2. nautical to come alongside (a vessel) before attacking or going aboard

3. to attack (a ship) by forcing one's way aboard

4. (tr; often foll by up, in, etc) to cover or shut with boards

5. (intr) to give or receive meals or meals and lodging in return for money or work

6. (sometimes foll by out) to receive or arrange for (someone, esp a child) to receive food and lodging away from home, usually in return for payment

board More Idioms  

1. see across the board; back to the drawing board; bed and board; bulletin board; by the board; go overboard; on board; open and aboveboard; room and board; stiff as a board; tread the boards.

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Other Word Forms

• boardable
  adjective
• boardlike
  adjective
• reboard
  verb (used with object)
• unboarded
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of board

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English bord “board, table, shield”; cognate with Dutch boord “board,” bord “plate,” German Bort, Old Norse borth, Gothic -baurd

Explanation

A board is a plank or surface, sometimes having buttons or controls. You can cut vegetables on a cutting board, post a flyer on a bulletin board, or cause a power outage on a circuit board. The word board frequently finds itself as half of a compound word where the action takes place: You stand on a surfboard, type at a keyboard, or lose on a checkerboard. You can also sit on a board, meaning a team, of directors, or board, meaning stay, at a hotel. If you want to leave your hotel, you may board, or climb onto, your hovercraft. Remember: Being stiff as a board is not the same as being bored stiff.

Example Sentences

A lower rate of inflation does not mean prices are falling across the board, but that prices are rising more slowly than previously.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

Although the Bank of Japan kept rates at 0.75% at its last meeting, three board members dissented, and SocGen analysts expect the central bank to raise rates soon.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Tuesday’s board meeting provided a first look at how administrators conceptualize the board’s directive, approved unanimously on April 21, to limit district-required screen time.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

Ex-England fast bowler Finn, 37, is a Test Match Special broadcaster and also serves on the board of his former county Middlesex.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

The white letters stood up from the ground on their own, rather than being painted on a board.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• catch
• climb on
• enter
• get on
• hop on