placard
Americannoun
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a paperboard sign or notice, as one posted in a public place or carried by a demonstrator or picketer.
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Armor. placate.
verb (used with object)
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to display placards on or in.
The square was placarded by peace marchers.
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to publicize, announce, or advertise by means of placards.
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to post as a placard.
noun
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a printed or written notice for public display; poster
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a small plaque or card
verb
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to post placards on or in
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to publicize or advertise by placards
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to display as a placard
Other Word Forms
- placarder noun
Etymology
Origin of placard
Explanation
A placard is a sign, especially one that advertises something. You might get a summer job standing on the sidewalk, holding a placard that announces a mattress sale — though it may not be your dream job. A concert poster, a storefront notice, a protest sign carried in a rally — each of these is a type of placard. A placard can be as impermanent as a square of cardboard with a scrawled message, and as official as a permanent plaque marking a historic building. The Old French word plaquier is at the root of placard, and it means "to plaster or to lay flat."
Vocabulary lists containing placard
The Sun Is Also a Star
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Eats, Shoots & Leaves
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Johnny Tremain
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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.
"We do not use air conditioning, and this year we did not use the boiler," she said as she held a placard that read "electricity service is a right".
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
"Free our president," read a placard held by a man with a red flannel shirt which bore the image of Maduro's predecessor and mentor, late socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez.
From Barron's • Jan. 5, 2026
On Sunday, colorful Easter decorations were still posted out front next to bright yellow flowers and a faded “Security One” home security placard.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2025
A protester holds up a protect your mother Earth placard during the protest march on November 06, 2021 in Bristol, England.
From Salon • May 10, 2025
I looked down at the small placard that was there until a gravestone would be ready.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
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.
