pasteboard

American  

[peyst-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈpeɪstˈbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

1. a stiff, firm board made of sheets of paper pasted or layers of paper pulp pressed together.

2. Older Slang. a card, as a visiting card or a playing card.

3. Older Slang. a ticket, as for the theater.

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adjective

1. made of pasteboard.

2. unsubstantial, flimsy, or sham.

pasteboard British  

/ ˈpeɪstˌbɔːd /

noun

1. 1. a stiff board formed from layers of paper or pulp pasted together, esp as used in bookbinding

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pasteboard book cover

2. slang a card or ticket

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adjective

1. flimsy; insubstantial

2. sham; fake

Other Word Forms

• pasteboardy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pasteboard

First recorded in 1540–50; paste + board

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pasteboard

All of them taught me different ways to create a world populated by living, breathing characters, so that the reader never notices the pasteboard, the strings and levers.

From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2018

But you and I both know that the real star of the film was the courtesans au chocolat from Mendel's down in the village, vivid stacks of cream puffs arranged in pink pasteboard boxes.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2018

“High-tech things can help attract customers,” says Mr. Qin, whose pasteboard sign features a robot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2016

The pitmaster arrives at three or four in the morning to start up the pasteboard boxes normally used as kindling.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 2, 2015

Out of the pasteboard frame and through the plastic cover the brown eyes of the woman laughed up at her as they always did.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson