washboard [wosh -bawrd, -bohrd, wawsh -]
Examples Word Origin
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 a thin, broad plank fastened to and projecting above the gunwale or side of a boat to keep out the spray and sea. a similar board on the sill of a port. Show More
resembling a washboard in being rough and bumpy: a washboard roadbed. Show More
Origin of washboard First recorded in
1735–45; wash +
board Related forms wash·board·y , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for washboard Contemporary Examples of washboard Although the NFL party animal loves flaunting his washboard abs, he seems more fratboy than Fabio.
Nine months later, he awakens from his coma with washboard abs and the ability to run really fast.
Not 17-year-olds with washboard abs, but smooth-cheeked preteens and young adolescents.
MemphisYou're more likely to find a good BBQ joint here than a guy with washboard abs.
Historical Examples of washboard He reached for the washboard as he ceased, and smiled lovingly on his mother.
The ridges in a washboard help to clean the clothes that are rubbed over them.
The wind came in gusts, and now every flaw carried her down to the washboard .
"I've had enough of this thing," said Charley, clinging to the washboard behind him.
She is through with the back-breaking battling trough 264 and the washboard .
British Dictionary definitions for washboard 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 a vertical planklike shield fastened to the gunwales of a boat to prevent water from splashing over the side Also called: splashboard a shield under a port for the same purpose Show More
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
Word Origin and History for washboard n. clothes-cleaning device, 1882, from wash (v.) + board (n.1). As a percussion instrument, attested from 1925; in reference to abdominal muscles, recorded from 1950 in boxing jargon.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
