noun
Etymology
Origin of boardwalk
Explanation
A boardwalk is a wooden path along a beach. In some places, it’s just a walkway over the marshes, but in others, it’s where all the action is, like in the song from the 1960’s “Under the Boardwalk.” Some boardwalks are simply wooden walkways, built so pedestrians can stroll near the water without damaging seaside plants or getting sand in their shoes. Other boardwalks are much larger commercial areas, often even built with concrete rather than wood. One famous boardwalk, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, gives tourists a place to gamble, eat, drink, and buy souvenirs. This boardwalk is, in fact, considered the first in the US and is credited with inspiring the word itself.
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.
On the boardwalk, Ryan Wamhoff stared at an empty ocean.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Paul Alexander Nolan’s Max, the owner of a boardwalk video store who crashes into the lives of the Emerson family, puts on a Clark Kent facade to conceal his nefarious alter ego.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
The couple are also planning to put a pool and “inset spa” in the backyard, while also building a pool deck and a boardwalk, as well as a trellis.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 17, 2025
By late September, the striped umbrellas are folded, the taffy shops go dark and the only thing moving along the boardwalk is the autumn wind.
From Salon • Oct. 11, 2025
My boots echo on the boardwalk as I approach, and he glances over his shoulder and grunts.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
