springboard

[ spring-bawrd, -bohrd ]

/ ˈsprɪŋˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

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See synonyms for: springboard / springboards on Thesaurus.com

noun

a flexible board, projecting over water, from which divers leap or spring.

a flexible board used as a takeoff in vaulting, tumbling, etc., to increase the height of leaps.

something that supplies the impetus or conditions for a beginning, change, or progress; a point of departure: a lecture to serve as a springboard for a series of seminars.

verb (used with or without object)

to impel or launch on or as if on a springboard.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of springboard

First recorded in 1865–70; spring + board

Words nearby springboard

spring, springald, spring balance, spring beauty, spring binder, springboard, springbok, spring break, springbuck, spring cankerworm, spring catch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use springboard in a sentence

Adofo said he hoped the events would be a springboard to involve more residents in their community and provide outlets for them to engage in the self-determination championed by King.
After a year of pain and strife, volunteers see MLK Day as a way to come together|Joe Heim|January 18, 2021|Washington Post
They hope to use that as a springboard to build interest in the commercial product, which should be available some time later this year.
Slim.ai announces $6.6M seed to build container DevOps platform|Ron Miller|January 12, 2021|TechCrunch
Financial Garden also teaches kids how to start their own businesses and be financially sustainable using their talents and passions as a springboard.
Will the Pandemic Teach American Kids Financial Literacy?|Charu Kasturi|November 12, 2020|Ozy
He wanted to highlight how we could use the moon as a springboard to expand human civilization into the rest of the solar system.
How the Artemis moon mission could help get us to Mars|Neel Patel|September 23, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Amanda Stone says Olly uses an initial customer purchase as a springboard to pitch additional products to the consumer.
Deep Dive: How to master Amazon advertising in the new normal|Digiday|July 29, 2020|Digiday
ABC had effectively removed the launching coil on its Modern Family springboard.
‘black-ish’ Is the New ‘Modern Family’|Kevin Fallon|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Marie Claire editor in chief Anne Fulenwider said she has no comment about Mam using her magazine as a springboard for redemption.
Who’s Telling The Truth About Somaly Mam? A Smashed Icon, A Media Brawl—and a Comeback|Lloyd Grove|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But, like a traditional shaman, Coltrane clearly believed that the drums served as a springboard to a higher order of engagement.
What if Jazz Giant John Coltrane Had Lived?|Ted Gioia|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But sometimes heritage is an irrepressibly fascinating springboard for talent.
Danilo Kis, the Stylish Historian of Infamy|Anthony Paletta|June 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The D.C. Circuit has been their springboard for rear-guard actions against the administration, and they want to preserve it.
As GOP Senators Block Obama’s Nominees, Democrats Prepare ‘Nuclear Option’|Jamelle Bouie|May 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
One after the other the boys ran up the springboard until only Jim and the stranger were left.
Still Jim|Honor Willsie Morrow
A log thrust up suddenly beneath Cottrells feet and threw him into the air as if he had been shot from a springboard.
The Boss of Wind River|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
I've always had a horror of being married for a living or for a home or as an experiment or a springboard.
The Grain Of Dust|David Graham Phillips
She slid her forefeet a little way down the grassy side and went out over the water as if the bank had been a springboard.
Mount Music|E. Oe. Somerville and Martin Ross
Early in the performance a series of flying leaps from a springboard, in which all the acrobats took part, was introduced.
The Young Acrobat of the Great North American Circus|Horatio Alger Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for springboard

springboard

/ (ˈsprɪŋˌbɔːd) /

noun

a flexible board, usually projecting low over the water, used for diving

a similar board used for gaining height or momentum in gymnastics

Australian and NZ a board inserted into the trunk of a tree at some height above the ground on which a lumberjack stands to chop down the tree

anything that serves as a point of departure or initiation

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

springboard

Origin of springboard

Words nearby springboard

Words related to springboard

How to use springboard in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for springboard