chalkboard

American  

[chawk-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈtʃɔkˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

• chalkboards
  plural

1. a blackboard, especially a green or other light-colored one.

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chalkboard British  

/ ˈtʃɔːkˌbɔːd /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): blackboard. a hard or rigid surface made of a smooth usually dark substance, used for writing or drawing on with chalk, esp in teaching

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chalkboards
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chalkboard

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; chalk + board

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chalkboard chalkboards

Well, then the sound of television writer Joe Wiseman clearing his throat over and over again might as well be Gilbert Gottfried’s laugh scratching against a chalkboard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

I choose the “Love Potion,” noted on the chalkboard sign as an early Valentine’s Day special.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

It’s still going to be Professor Barrett at the chalkboard explaining the difference between a substantive canon and a rule of statutory construction.

From Slate ● Feb. 20, 2026

I was reading a chalkboard menu, when someone spoke over my shoulder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

The school ran from kindergarten all the way through eighth grade, which meant that by the time I’d reached the upper grades, I knew every light switch, every chalkboard and cracked patch of hallway.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

But even mathematicians were astonished when OpenAI announced that one of its models resolved a puzzle known as the unit distance problem without the help of any humans scribbling a bunch of equations on chalkboards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

Lockers and chalkboards still line the walls and the surrounding streets are dotted with boarded-up businesses and crumbling houses, legacies of decades of under-investment.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2023

It allows children aged 6-14 to assemble structures with wooden slats, explore homemade “ornithopters” and try writing in reverse on mounted chalkboards.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

Professors linger in empty classrooms, trying to solve complex equations on chalkboards.

From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2023

Dad’s classroom has chalkboards with rows of five horizontal white lines painted across the black.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

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