board

BORD/bɔɹd/UKBAWD/bɔːd/

Pluralboards

Verbboards, boarding, boarded

22 meanings of board

Practice

1
directorsnouncountable or uncountable
A group of people who run a company, organization, or area and make its main decisions.
The board voted to spend more on new books.
She joined the board after working there for years.
UsagePeople are on the board: she is on the board.
Similarcommittee, council, directorate
Note
2
planknouncountable or uncountable
A long, flat, thin piece of wood, often used to build things or make furniture.
Like a flat piece of wood you might use to make a shelf or a floor.
He sawed the board into two short pieces.
We used a long board to make the shelf.
Similarplank, panel, slat
Note
3
nouncountable or uncountableabbreviation
Short for blackboard and similar words: a whiteboard, surfboard, bulletin board or the like, when it is clear which.
The teacher wrote the homework on the board.
He pinned the notice to the board in the hallway.
UsageThe teacher writes on the board.
Note
4
verbtransitive
To get onto a ship, plane, train, or bus, or to climb onto a ship to attack it.
Passengers can board the plane once their row is called.
We boarded the train just before the doors closed.
UsageSay board the bus, with no on after it.
Similarenter, embark
Oppositedisembark
Note
5
nouncountable or uncountable
The flat surface or area where pieces or cards are put to play a game.
She set up the board and handed everyone their pieces.
He knocked the board off the table and the tokens scattered.
6
pay to live withverbintransitive
To pay to live and eat in someone's home, or to let someone do this in yours for money.
He boards with a local family near his school.
Many students board close to campus to save money.
UsageSay board with a family.
7
meals (lodging)noununcountable
The regular meals you get where you stay, or what you pay for them.
The college charges extra for room and board.
Her rent included board, so she never had to cook.
UsageOften room and board: a room and meals.
Similarmeals, food
Note
8
nouncountable or uncountable
Thick, stiff paper used for things like book covers.
Like thick cardboard used to make the hard cover of a book.
The bookbinder cut the board to size before gluing on the cloth.
These old covers are made from board rather than modern plastic.
Similarpasteboard, cardboard, card
Note
9
nouncolloquialcountable
In basketball, a rebound: getting the ball after a missed shot.
Like catching a ball that bounces back to you after a missed throw.
He grabbed a big board in the final seconds to seal the win.
She led the team with fifteen boards last night.
UsageOften boards: ten boards in a game.
Similarrebound
Note

Less common meanings

10
verbtransitive
To cover something with wooden boards.
Before the hurricane, we boarded up all the windows.
He hurried to board the broken doorway with spare wood.
UsageOften board up the windows.
Similarshutter, barricade, cover
Note
11
nouncountable or uncountable
A panel with switches and controls used to run lights, sound, or phone connections.
The technician used the board to dim the stage lights.
She sat at the board and connected each phone call.
Similarconsole, panel, switchboard
12
rink wallnouncountable or uncountableplural
The wall that goes around the edge of an ice hockey rink.
The puck bounced off the boards, and the goalie quickly grabbed it.
He pinned the other player against the boards to win the puck.
UsageUse off the boards for a bounce and along the boards for play near the wall.
Similarwall
Note
13
noun
The stage in a theater, or the job of acting in plays. People say the boards.
She first stepped onto the boards when she was twelve.
After years in movies, he went back to the boards in New York.
UsageTread the boards means act in plays.
Similarstage
14
hit with woodverbtransitive
To hit someone with a piece of wood.
15
nounarchaiccountable or uncountable
The side of a ship or boat.
Now board to board the rival vessels row.
1697, Virgil, “The Fifth Book of the Æneis”Here, board means the side of a ship, so the ships row side by side.
Note
16
tablenounarchaiccountable or uncountable
A long, narrow table, like the ones used in dining halls long ago.
“Take your seat at my board, and let me drink to your health.”
1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”Here, board means a long table where people sit to eat and drink.
Túrin took a seat without heed, for he was wayworn, and filled with thought; and by ill-luck he set himself at a board among the elders of the realm, and in that place where Saeros was accustomed to sit.
2007, J. R. R. Tolkien edited by Christopher Tolkien, The Children of HúrinHere, board means a long table where people sit together.
Note
17
approachverbarchaictransitive
To go up to someone and speak to them, often to make advances.
Note
18
verbtransitive
To keep and feed another person's pet or animal, at a place like a kennel or stable, usually for money.
The vet down the street will board our cat while we are away.
This farm boards horses for people who live in the city.
UsageSay a kennel boards dogs, or a horse is boarded there.
Similarhouse, keep, lodge
Note
19
verb
To write words or numbers on a blackboard or whiteboard.
20
noun
A single level or stage in a video game.
21
noun
In the card game bridge, a tray that holds dealt cards so other players can play the same hands.
22
noun
The distance a sailing boat travels in one straight stretch while sailing against the wind.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of board apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–8, 10–18

From Old English bord, meaning "board, plank, or table." The meanings "food" and "council" came from the idea of a table.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Board derives from Old English bord. en.wiktionary.org
Old English bord meant board, plank, or table. en.wiktionary.org
The food and council meanings developed from the table sense. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 9

From the word backboard.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Board in the basketball sense ‘a rebound’ derives from backboard. en.wiktionary.org