board

[ bawrd, bohrd ]

/ bɔrd, boʊrd /

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See synonyms for: board / boarded / boarding / boards on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a flat slab of wood or other material for some specific purpose: a cutting board.

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

boards,

Theater. the stage: The play will go on the boards next week.
the wooden fence surrounding the playing area of an ice-hockey rink.
a racing course made of wood, used especially in track meets held indoors: his first time running on boards.

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

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

a table, especially to serve food on.

daily meals, especially as provided for pay: twenty dollars a day for room and board.

an official group of persons who direct or supervise some activity: a board of directors.

Nautical.

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

Railroads. a fixed signal or permanent sign regulating traffic.

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.

surfboard.

Computers.

Also called card, circuit board . a piece of fiberglass or other material upon which chips can be mounted to perform specific functions.
plugboard (def. 2).

Electronics. circuit board (def. 2).

a switchboard.

Australian.

the area of a woolshed where shearing is done.
a crew of shearers working in a particular woolshed.
sheep about to be sheared.

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

verb (used with object)

to cover or close with boards (often followed by up or over): to board up a house; to board over a well.

to furnish with meals, or with meals and lodging, especially for pay:They boarded him for $50 a week.

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

to allow on board: We will be boarding passengers in approximately ten minutes.

to come up alongside (a ship), as to attack or to go on board: The pirate ship boarded the clipper.

Obsolete. to approach; accost.

verb (used without object)

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.

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

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about board

across the board,

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

go by the board,

to go over the ship's side.
to be destroyed, neglected, or forgotten: All his devoted labor went by the board.

on board,

on or in a ship, plane, or other vehicle: There were several movie stars on board traveling incognito.
Baseball. on base: There were two men on board as the next batter came up.
present and functioning as a member of a team or organization.

Also aboard .

on the boards, in the theatrical profession: The family has been on the boards since grandfather's time.

tread the boards. tread (def. 23).

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

OTHER WORDS FROM board

board·a·ble, adjectiveboardlike, adjectivere·board, verb (used with object)un·board·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH board

1. board , bored2. board , committee, council, panel, trust

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use board in a sentence

Harrell played poorly in the bubble following the death of his grandmother, but his scoring ability, pick-and-roll savvy and motor make him one of the best big men on the board.
NBA free agency live updates: The latest moves and news from the offseason|Ben Golliver|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
His mother was a teacher, and his father worked for an insurance company where Mary McLeod Bethune, the women’s and civil rights activist, served on the board.
Drew S. Days III, first African American to lead civil rights division at Justice Department, dies at 79|Emily Langer|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
If the Rockets are reluctant to trade Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers, where Morey now runs the show, the Nets are perhaps the best option on the board.
NBA free agency tracker (plus trades): Warriors acquire Kelly Oubre; 76ers trade Al Horford to Thunder|Ben Golliver|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
He encouraged Metro staff members to be more “aggressive” and bring a plan to the board that might transform Metro’s fleet to fully electric by 2035.
Metro board approves budget cuts, buyouts as pandemic dents agency’s budget|Justin George|November 19, 2020|Washington Post

The 54-page planning document published Thursday is essentially a wish list, explaining to the council why the library system’s board believes city funds would be well spent on the projects.
D.C. library system wants to build new branches, including a first in Adams Morgan|Julie Zauzmer|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
So the following year dozens of Santas, in full red and white trim, boarded a plane to Portland.
Before the Bros, SantaCon Was as an Anti-Corporate Protest|David Freedlander|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was no trouble on the ferry as it reached Manhattan and a few of the passengers boarded the subway to the protest uptown.
‘I Can’t Breathe!’ ‘I Can’t Breathe!’ A Moral Indictment of Cop Culture|Michael Daly|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some were silent from shock, others giddy and smiling as they boarded the U.S. Air Force C-130s.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Three months later, they were handed over to South Korean officials and, on April 1, 2009, boarded a plane for Seoul.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State|Lizzie Crocker|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On December 1, 1955, she was sitting in a middle row when white people boarded, so that she was supposed to move back, or stand.
How Rock and Roll Killed Jim Crow|Dennis McNally|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A newsboy boarded the train and passed hurriedly through the cars with the morning papers.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
A party of American marines boarded her, hauled down the Spanish flag, and tried to save the hull, but it was too far consumed.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Bluejackets boarded her; got her fire under control; got her under steam and moved out.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Boarded the Mosquito; sailed for and reached camp without further adventure.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
By some means unknown he managed to get to a town at the end of the lake and there boarded a midnight train bound West.
The Mystery at Putnam Hall|Arthur M. Winfield

British Dictionary definitions for board

board

/ (bɔːd) /

noun

a long wide flat relatively thin piece of sawn timber

a smaller flat piece of rigid material for a specific purposeironing board
(in combination)breadboard; cheeseboard

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)

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

(sometimes functioning as plural) a group of people who officially administer a company, trust, etca board of directors
(as modifier)a board meeting

any other committee or councila board of interviewers

the boards (plural) the acting profession; the stage

short forblackboard, chessboard, notice board, printed circuit board, springboard, surfboard

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

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

mainly US

a list on which stock-exchange securities and their prices are posted
informal the stock exchange itself

nautical

the side of a ship
the leg that a sailing vessel makes on a beat to windward

Australian and NZ the part of the floor of a sheep-shearing shed, esp a raised part, where the shearers work

NZ the killing floor of an abattoir or freezing works

any of various portable surfaces specially designed for indoor games such as chess, backgammon, etc
(as modifier)board games

a set of hands in duplicate bridge
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

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

See above board

go by the board to be in disuse, neglected, or lostin these days courtesy goes by the board

on board on or in a ship, boat, aeroplane, or other vehicle

sweep the board

(in gambling) to win all the cards or money
to win every event or prize in a contest

take on board to accept (new ideas, situations, theories, etc)

verb

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

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

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

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

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

(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

Derived forms of board

boardable, adjective

Word Origin for board

Old English bord; related to Old Norse borth ship's side, table, Old High German bort ship's side, Sanskrit bardhaka a cutting off

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with board

board

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.

board

Idioms about board

Origin of board

OTHER WORDS FROM board

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH board

Words related to board

How to use board in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for board

Derived forms of board

Word Origin for board

Other Idioms and Phrases with board