matchboard

American  

[mach-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈmætʃˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

1. a board having a tongue formed on one edge and a groove of the same dimensions cut into the other, used with similar boards to compose floors, dados, etc.

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matchboard British  

/ ˈmætʃˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a long thin board with a tongue along one edge and a corresponding groove along the other, used with similar boards to line walls, ceilings, etc

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Etymology

Origin of matchboard

First recorded in 1840–50; match ² + board

Example Sentences

The treble and double segments were smaller than they were on a matchboard.

From The Guardian • Apr. 27, 2019

There was a door at the head of the stairs, in a matchboard partition that walled the well of the staircase.

From Mary Olivier: a Life by Sinclair, May

"We could matchboard the timbers over if you like, but it is not usual."

From The Lost Heir by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

The shanty was of corrugated iron lined with planks, and consisted of two small bedrooms and a living-room, divided from one another by matchboard partitions.

From Grit Lawless by Young, F.E. Mills

It was only matchboard, she decided, run up to make many little rooms of one large one.

From The Voyage Out by Woolf, Virginia