floorboard

[flawr-bawrd, flohr-bohrd]

noun

1. any of the boards composing a floor.

2. the floor of an automotive vehicle.

verb (used with object)

1. floor.

floorboard

/ ˈflɔːˌbɔːd /

noun

1. one of the boards forming a floor

Word History and Origins

Origin of floorboard¹

First recorded in 1880–85; floor + board

Example Sentences

The social housing property in Halifax was deemed ready for the family despite having bare and uneven floorboards in the bedrooms and living areas.

From BBC

They found the roof had worn away and the floorboards had rotted in the rains.

From BBC

There are lane arrows in some of the floorboards while original lane numbers are painted on the basement girders of the back-of-house spaces.

From Los Angeles Times

There is a sense of familiarity in the oak floorboards and the slanted sunlight within Chan’s thoughtfully designed space.

From Los Angeles Times

Under the floorboards of a mini mart called Ezee Shop, a network of these secret tunnels hide contraband stock.

From BBC

When To Use

What does floorboard mean?

A floorboard is one of the usually wooden planks that make up a floor.It usually refers to a board of plywood used to make a subfloor—the rough floor beneath a finished floor. Many houses are constructed using floorboards to create a subfloor, which is then often covered with materials like hardwood, carpet, tile, linoleum, or some form of laminate flooring.The word floorboard means something else in the context of vehicles—it refers to the floor of a car or truck.This sense of the word is the basis of the slang verb floorboard, meaning to press a vehicle’s accelerator (gas pedal) as far down as possible (all the way to the floor) in order to go as fast as possible. The word floor is more commonly used to mean the same thing. Both terms are often followed by it, as in As soon as the light turned green, I floorboarded it so I could get way ahead of all the other cars. Example: I pried up a loose floorboard hoping to find treasure under, but there was just a lot of dust and dirt.