kanban
Americannoun
noun
-
a just-in-time manufacturing process in which the movements of materials through a process are recorded on specially designed cards
-
any of the cards used for ordering materials in such a system
Etymology
Origin of kanban
From Japanese kamban literally, “signboard, shopkeeper's in-business sign,” probably alluding to the shop or tavern keeper's final call for orders before taking the sign down, hence '“ast-minute, just in time” in the context of inventory control, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese kàn “look” + bǎn “printing block”
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.
This year, I’ve been trying to lose weight—17 pounds down so far, I’m happy to say—and shifted to using a kanban board for my weekly meal plan.
From Slate ● May 24, 2026
Toyota revolutionised modern manufacturing with its system of lean production, just-in-time delivery and "kanban" workflow organisation.
From Reuters ● Sep. 18, 2023
Toyota essentially invented modern auto assembly with its "kanban" system for notifying suppliers of what parts are needed where and when to minimize inventory.
From Reuters ● Aug. 30, 2023
The calendar looked more like a Trello-style kanban board of time than a grid of hours.
From The Verge ● Aug. 2, 2022
Even in the normal Plan view, you can click a button and immediately hide all of your work events or click another and compress the view back into something like a kanban board.
From The Verge ● Aug. 2, 2022
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.
