washboard

American  

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

noun

• washboards
  plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• washboards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of washboard

First recorded in 1735–45; wash + board

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

washboard washboards

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

My arms and back complained like the dickens as I refilled the wash boiler, kept the water hot, rubbed grimy clothes on the washboard, wrung them out, and hung them to dry.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Since the late 1960s, Saar has transformed washboards, dolls, clocks, family photographs, racist memorabilia and other salvaged materials into emotionally charged assemblages now held in the permanent collections of more than 60 museums.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

The fictitious Midlands family chain began by selling washboards and tinned pies in 1923.

From BBC ● May 11, 2022

The shifting ground has left at least 1,000 buildings damaged, the mayor said, while roads and sidewalks repeatedly turn into washboards.

From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2019

The washboards are used in lieu of canvases and are loaded with symbolism.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 30, 2018

He took pride in using a variety of Northwest woods in his products—sugar pine for keels, ash for the frames, Sitka spruce for the gunnels and the hand-carved seats, Alaska yellow cedar for the washboards.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown