cardboard
Americannoun
adjective
-
resembling cardboard, especially in flimsiness.
an apartment with cardboard walls.
-
not fully lifelike; shallow; two-dimensional.
a play with cardboard characters.
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of cardboard
Explanation
The heavy, rigid paper that's used to make the boxes you use for mailing things is called cardboard. Cardboard also comes in handy for crafts and projects in classrooms. A lot of cardboard is made from several layers of thick paper, so that it's stiff and strong, and protects items inside cardboard boxes. You can also use the word cardboard to describe a fictional character who doesn't seem real: "The mother in the movie was such a cardboard character." In the 18th century, cardboard was known as card paper.
Vocabulary lists containing cardboard
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.
The package will arrive on time, in unmarked brown cardboard, in two days.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
Bobby, along with thousands of colleagues, carried his career out in a cardboard box.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
They are present in minute quantities in many products including non-stick cookware, cardboard food packaging, textiles, firefighting foam, paint and more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
Gavilan collects cardboard and scrap metal for a living but it no longer puts food on the table.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
She was pulling flattened-up cardboard boxes out from behind the door of the pantry, where Mom keeps them until Dad finally bundles them so I can take them for recycling downstairs.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
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.
