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

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

Stroheim was as detailed and observant a director working in front of the pasteboard castles of “Foolish Wives” as the desert of “Greed.”

From The New Yorker • Jan. 14, 2016

I put everything I had in a pasteboard box and walked out into a cold north wind.

From Forbes • Sep. 7, 2012

As I wiped the sweat off my face and picked up a pasteboard box, I knew I couldn’t mention such to Mama anyway—about the beds, I mean.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns