chalkboard

[chawk-bawrd, -bohrd]

noun

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

chalkboard

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of chalkboard¹

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

Example Sentences

“It’s electric. And it’s also like nails on a chalkboard. It does something. It moves you in some kind of way, good or bad, but it will move you.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Trying to parse their motivations is like making out the writing on a chalkboard that’s been erased.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For Democrats, the mere mention of his name has the same effect as nails applied to a chalkboard.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Pat Riley once wrote on the locker room chalkboard during a playoff run, “No rebounds , no rings.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The concept was I'm standing in front of a chalkboard with chalk in my hand, and I don't know how to solve the easy thing in front of me,” he recalled.

Read more on Salon