noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
The King walked along a new boardwalk through the wetlands to see the conservation work being done to protect this vulnerable, low lying island from climate change.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Even during Shabbat, the boardwalk here is full of families basking in the sunshine, electric scooters whizzing past, and bars blasting American hits.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
It’s reinforcing the boardwalk with lumber and using the aforementioned 3,000-pound sandbags to “deflect wave energy on the beach side of the bulkhead, the seawall,” Martin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Dramatic photos and video footage showed homes along the city's peninsula teetering precariously, while its historic boardwalk was partially swept away.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
I shuffled up to the boardwalk, beating Ma there.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
Long Beach and Newport Beach have been at the center of the devastation, with viral videos showing waves crashing onto oceanside homes, parking lots, boardwalks and jetties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
For instance, an association covering single-family housing doesn’t deal with issues such as environmental risks or maintenance of things like boardwalks that a single-family beach HOA may have to tackle.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Tackling the High Fens fire was made much harder by the fens' terrain -- a patchwork of heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Across the archipelago, marine iguanas routinely stretch out across boardwalks and walking paths, forcing tourists to either wait patiently or find another route.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
They watched as darkness settled on the boardwalks.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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