bulletin board

American  

[bool-i-tn bawrd, -tin] / ˈbʊl ɪ tn ˌbɔrd, -tɪn /

noun

bulletin boards plural

1. a board for the posting of bulletins, notices, announcements, etc.

2. Also called bulletin board system.  Digital Technology. BBS

   1. an online collection of electronic messages, posted by and accessible to any authorized user.

   2. a system, facility, or computer server for collecting and relaying these messages.

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bulletin board British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): notice board.  a board on which notices, advertisements, bulletins, etc, are displayed

2. computing a facility on a computer network allowing any user to leave messages that can be read by any other user, and to download software and information to the user's own computer

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bulletin board Scientific  

/ bl′ĭ-tn /

1. An electronic communication system that allows users to send or read electronic messages, files, and other data that are of general interest and addressed to no particular person. Bulletin boards were widely used before the Internet became popular, and many of their functions are now served by websites and newsgroups for specific topics or groups.

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bulletin board Idioms  

1. Also, electronic bulletin board. A computer service that provides facilities for people to leave messages by phone or telecomputing. For example, The National Writers Union has a bulletin board through which members communicate via their modems. Both the device and the term, alluding to the older board for posting notices, date from the late 1970s.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bulletin boards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bulletin board

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bulletin board

She pushes buttons because she’s trying to get them to admit something, or she’s pinning the fly to the bulletin board and watching it squirm.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

However, online bulletin board Pinterest saw fit late last year to begin allowing users to filter out some AI-generated content.

From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026

They did so by using online bulletin board systems, or BBSes, a precursor to the internet.

From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2025

I looked back at a note she had given me at the end of the school year in 2018, still pinned on my bulletin board.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

A committeewoman wore charcoal sweaters and skirts of scratchy material and wrote notes on a bulletin board while talking to other committeewomen on the telephone.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord