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washboard

[ wosh-bawrd, -bohrd, wawsh- ]
/ ˈwɒʃˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd, ˈwɔʃ- /
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noun
a rectangular board or frame, typically with a corrugated metallic surface, on which clothes are rubbed in the process of washing.
a baseboard around the walls of a room.
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.
adjective
resembling a washboard in being rough and bumpy: a washboard roadbed.
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Origin of washboard

First recorded in 1735–45; wash + board

OTHER WORDS FROM washboard

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

How to use washboard in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for washboard

washboard
/ (ˈwɒʃˌbɔːd) /

noun
a board having a surface, usually of corrugated metal, on which esp formerly, clothes were scrubbed
such a board used as a rhythm instrument played with the fingers in skiffle, Country and Western music, etc
a less common US word for skirting board
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
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
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