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 Florida home has a private boardwalk to the Atlantic and hand-painted murals in the dining room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
It warned the second nest, established last year, was "quite close to the boardwalk and is vulnerable to disturbance".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The best part is that it’s located on the sand at the beach just steps away from the famous boardwalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
Even George W. Bush — the bumbling boardwalk caricature that he is — could deliver a State of the Union address without going off-prompter.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
My boots echo on the boardwalk as I approach, and he glances over his shoulder and grunts.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
On-site operations have been complicated by the fens' terrain -- a patchwork of heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
He recommends visitors hike the Curonian Spit—a thin 61-mile stretch of sand dunes along the Baltic Sea—and cross the wooden boardwalks that span Estonia’s wetlands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Paths have been resurfaced, stiles removed, boardwalks built and bridges installed.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Park officials also reminded visitors that pets are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
I fixed boardwalks and lifeguard chairs and the dock struts rotting away in the saltwater marsh.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
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.
