running board

American  

noun

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

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running board British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of running board

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

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Example Sentences

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

For an instant, standing on the running board of the motorcade car, he entertained the vain hope that maybe it was just a firecracker or a blown tire.

From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2023

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

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2023

Reynolds, crooning into the morning light while standing on the running board of his whizzing car, seems to be having the time of his life.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 27, 2018

He’s standing on the running board of the shop’s antique ice cream truck with the giant sign that says DO NOT TOUCH.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

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