boarder

American  

[bawr-der, bohr-] / ˈbɔr dər, ˈboʊr- /

noun

• boarders
  plural

1. a person, especially a lodger, who is supplied with regular meals.

2. a member of a boarding party.

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boarder British  

/ ˈbɔːdə /

noun

1. a pupil who lives at school during term time

2. a child who lives away from its parents and is cared for by a person or organization receiving payment

3. another word for lodger

4. a person who boards a ship, esp one who forces his way aboard in an attack

   stand by to repel boarders

5. informal a person who takes part in sailboarding or snowboarding

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• boarders
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of boarder

First recorded in 1520–30; board + -er ¹

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Explanation

A boarder is someone who rents a room in someone's house. It can also be a student who lives and studies away from home at a boarding school. There are two main meanings of boarder, but they both involve staying somewhere away from home. A boarding school is a private school where students live as well as study. Those students are called boarders. Also, if someone rents a room of their house to guests, the guests are boarders. Holden Caulfield, the main character of "Catcher in the Rye," was a boarder; that is, until he got thrown out of Pencey Prep.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

boarder boarders

He was a boogie boarder until the object of his adoration told him, “What are you riding that for? You should be surfing. Get a surfboard.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

The Scottish Mission School had around 400 day and boarder pupils aged from six to 16 years old, a mixture of Jewish and Christian girls.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

After learning the basics of tap dancing from a boarder in the house where he was living, he caught the eye of more experienced tappers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

“I was so traumatized,” Morrow, a school bus driver and dog boarder, said in an interview.

From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2026

The group also had agreed to pay for Luke to go to a private school as a boarder, year-round.

From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Financial lessons from the nation’s history as the U.S. reaches 250 years: take risks, don’t be afraid of debt, take in boarders if things get tight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Taking in boarders or starting a business, he says, are better strategies than buying a stock and hoping it will grow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

The quarantine now boarders El Cajon, Proctor Valley, Lemon Grove and McGinty Mountain— with a total of 76 square miles of San Diego County under quarantine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Fees for boarders at Fettes College can cost up to £54,000 a year, inclusive of VAT.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2025

Vincent is great at making friends wherever he is, and the Rooses and the other boarders are pleasant, but they’re not like his family, and they aren’t intellectually stimulating.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

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