washboard

American  

[wosh-bawrd, -bohrd, wawsh-] / ˈwɒʃˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd, ˈwɔʃ- /

noun

1. a rectangular board or frame, typically with a corrugated metallic surface, on which clothes are rubbed in the process of washing.

2. a baseboard around the walls of a room.

3. Also called splashboard.  Nautical.

   1. a thin, broad plank fastened to and projecting above the gunwale or side of a boat to keep out the spray and sea.

   2. a similar board on the sill of a port.

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adjective

1. resembling a washboard in being rough and bumpy.

   a washboard roadbed.

washboard British  

/ ˈwɒʃˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a board having a surface, usually of corrugated metal, on which esp formerly, clothes were scrubbed

2. such a board used as a rhythm instrument played with the fingers in skiffle, Country and Western music, etc

3. a less common US word for skirting board

4. nautical

   1. a vertical planklike shield fastened to the gunwales of a boat to prevent water from splashing over the side

   2. Also called: splashboard.  a shield under a port for the same purpose

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• washboardy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of washboard

First recorded in 1735–45; wash + board

Example Sentences

Rice recalls the washboard abs of the ’90s; the athletic build of the early 2000s; the quest, in the 2010s, for tiny waists and huge biceps.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

The Raptor isn’t built so much for climbing tricky terrain — although it can do that, too — as it is crossing dirt, mud, dust and washboard roads at speed.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 5, 2024

His grandmother washed the Arsenal players' kit on an iron washboard behind the North Bank stand, previously known as the Laundry End.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2023

To generate chirps, crickets and katydids rub their forewings together, scraping a toothy vein against a smooth counterpart on the other wing, similar to a spoon raking a washboard.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2022

She rubbed clothes against a washboard with a surface of corrugated metal to help get the dirt out.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson