clapboard

¹ American  

[klab-erd, klap-bawrd, ‑-bohrd] / ˈklæb ərd, ˈklæpˌbɔrd, ‑ˌboʊrd /

noun

1. Chiefly Northeastern U.S. a long, thin board, thicker along one edge than the other, used in covering the outer walls of buildings, being laid horizontally, the thick edge of each board overlapping the thin edge of the board below it.

2. British. a size of oak board used for making barrel staves and for wainscoting.

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adjective

1. of or made of clapboard.

   a clapboard house.

clapboard ² American  

[klap-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈklæpˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

Movies.

1. a small board with a hinged stick attached that is clapped clap down at the beginning of the filming of a shot for use later in synchronizing sound and image in the editing of the film.

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clapboard British  

/ ˈklæbəd, ˈklæpˌbɔːd /

noun

1. 1. a long thin timber board with one edge thicker than the other, used esp in the US and Canada in wood-frame construction by lapping each board over the one below

   2. ( as modifier )

      a clapboard house

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verb

1. (tr) to cover with such boards

Etymology

Origin of clapboard¹

1510–20; earlier clap bord, alteration of obsolete clapholt < Low German klappholt (cognate with Dutch klaphout ) split wood used for barrel staves; clap ¹, holt

Origin of clapboard²

clap ¹ + board

Example Sentences

Ms. Zambello’s production, adapted from the one at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2016, has Puritan costumes, gray clapboard walls, and simple furnishings that depict dwellings, a courtroom and a jail.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

It’s a hip part of Brooklyn, where the centuries-old clapboard houses are interspersed with glassy boxes of recent vintage.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2025

It emerged long enough for a photo shoot at their residence, then was whisked back to Rye’s white clapboard town hall and securely stashed in a filing cabinet.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2024

Tidy clapboard homes painted blue and grey looked abandoned, the windows darkened and doors latched.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2023

The paint had long disappeared from the clapboard walls and no work had ever been done on the garden.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck