What does "board" mean?

1. (flat piece of material) a long, thin, flat piece of wood or other hard material used for building things. 2. (governing group) a group of people who manage or control a company or organization. 3. (surface for games or writing) a flat surface used for playing games like chess, or for writing on with chalk or markers. 4. (meals and lodging) the meals that are provided when you stay at a hotel or school. 5. (online forum) a place on the internet where people can post messages and discuss topics. 6. (to enter a vehicle) to get onto a plane, ship, train, or bus. 7. (to live and eat) to pay to live in a house and have your meals provided there.

board — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01flat piece of material

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. a long, thin, flat piece of wood or other hard material used for building things.

n. a relatively long, wide, and thin piece of timber or synthetic material used in construction or furniture-making.

“He used a long wooden board to fix the hole in the fence.”

“The carpenter selected several oak boards, ensuring the grain patterns matched before he began constructing the tabletop.”

Synonyms

plank panelslat

02governing group

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. a group of people who manage or control a company or organization.

n. an official body of administrators or directors appointed to manage the affairs of an organization or institution.

“The board of directors met to discuss the company's future plans.”

“The board voted unanimously to approve the merger, citing the potential for significant market expansion in the coming fiscal year.”

Synonyms

committee council directorate

03surface for games or writing

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. a flat surface used for playing games like chess, or for writing on with chalk or markers.

n. a flat surface marked for a specific purpose, such as a board game or a vertical surface for classroom instruction.

“The teacher wrote the homework instructions on the board at the front of the room.”

“He carefully moved his knight across the board, anticipating his opponent's next defensive maneuver.”

Synonyms

blackboardwhiteboardgameboard

04meals and lodging

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the meals that are provided when you stay at a hotel or school.

n. regular meals provided in return for payment or services, often paired with 'room'.

“The cost of the university hostel includes both room and board.”

“The contract specified that the seasonal workers would receive a modest weekly wage in addition to full room and board.”

Usage

Commonly used in the phrase 'room and board'.

Synonyms

meals provisions food

05online forum

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Computing Informal

n. a place on the internet where people can post messages and discuss topics.

n. an online discussion site or message board where users can post and read digital content.

“I found a great tip for fixing my bike on an online message board.”

“The community board became a hub for technical support, with experienced users helping newcomers troubleshoot software issues.”

Synonyms

forummessage board

06to enter a vehicle

A2 · Elementary

v. to get onto a plane, ship, train, or bus.

v. to enter or go onto a ship, aircraft, or other public vehicle. Transitive — takes a direct object.

“Passengers should be ready to board the plane in ten minutes.”

“The commuters waited patiently behind the yellow line until the conductor gave the signal to board the train.”

Synonyms

embark enter mount

Antonyms

disembark alight

07to live and eat

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to pay to live in a house and have your meals provided there.

v. to receive regular meals and lodging in return for payment. Often used as an intransitive verb.

“During the winter, the students board at the school instead of traveling home.”

“She decided to board with a local family to improve her language skills through daily conversation at-home conversation.”

Synonyms

lodge stay reside

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “board” in context.

01. advisory board

A wooden board Board (duplicate bridge) From Middle English boord, boorde, bord, bourd, burd, from Old English bord, from Proto-West Germanic bord, from Proto-Germanic burdą (“board, plank; edge; table”), from Proto-Indo-European bʰers- (“tip, top”) + -dʰh₁eti or bʰerH- (“to pierce; to strike”) + -dʰh₁eti. The senses "food" and "council" are by metonymy from the sense "table." Cognates Cognate with Scots buird (“board; table”), Yola borde (“table”), West Frisian boerd (“board”), Dutch bord (“dish, plate; board, plank; sign”), boord (“border, boundary; bank, shore”), German Bord (“shelf”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish bord (“plank; table”), Elfdalian buord (“table”), Faroese and Icelandic borð (“board, plank; table”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (baurd, “board, plank”) (whence 𐍆𐍉𐍄𐌿𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (fōtubaurd, “footstool”).

From backboard.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

NOUN

board(A2)