running board

American

noun

a small ledge, step, or footboard, formerly beneath the doors of an automobile, to assist passengers entering or leaving the car.

running board British

noun

a footboard along the side of a vehicle, esp an early motorcar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of running board

1810–20, in sense “platform from which a large pole boat is poled,”

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.

See Examples For:

running board

Cars went so slowly that “bandits could run right up and jump on your running board and take your valuables.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Weeks ago, I needed some toggle bolts to reinstall a running board on my truck.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2023

“I said, ‘Alfred can get out that truck and back it up to the dock standing on a running board.

From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2020

Guests would perch on the running board as he drove them to beach picnics or moonlit games of hockey.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 26, 2017

The boys reluctantly climbed down from the running board; only their eyes looked over the door.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023