sideboard
Americannoun
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sideboards
plural
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a piece of furniture, as in a dining room, often with shelves, drawers, etc., for holding articles of table service.
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Slang. sideboards, side whiskers.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sideboard
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at side 1, board
Compare meaning
How does sideboard compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A sideboard is a piece of furniture that can be used for storing tableware and table linens, or for serving platters of food. That flat-topped cabinet in your dining room with a drawer full of cloth napkins? That's a sideboard. Another word for a sideboard is a buffet. Not every dining room has one, but if your house has space, a sideboard can be a handy place to display your prettiest serving dishes or set out food at Thanksgiving so your guests can serve themselves. Sideboard gets its name from its traditional place, at one side of a dining room. This piece of furniture became popular in wealthy 18th and 19th century households.
Vocabulary lists containing sideboard
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.
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A massive Ruhlmann sideboard, first made in 1920, is inlaid with an ivory marquetry pattern that suggests—to me, least—soap bubbles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
"It went from having nine bottles on my mum and dad's sideboard in the kitchen, to a shelf, to buying my own shed," Mr Luke told BBC News.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2024
But as so often happens, a tipple that initially made matrons clutch their pearls quickly became a regular feature on the society sideboard, and this John Collins-Tom Collins became a classic.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
He specializes in restoring midcentury items, such as a sideboard by the Danish designer Ib Kofod-Larsen and a dressing table by the British design company Archie Shine.
From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
One opened the drawers of the sideboard, leaving each open.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
It’s perfect for things like sideboards and usually costs about $100.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Her presence is felt though, through the pictures hanging on walls and clustered on sideboards.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2023
Wood gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead less than two minutes later when he took a pass off the sideboards and threaded his way to the front of the net to beat Ingram.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
And while that might not sound like a large span, it can easily exceed the width of common sideboards where the projector will live.
From The Verge ● May 20, 2022
And he spread the blanket across the sideboards of the truck so that it was like a little tent.
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
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.
