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REFERENCE

board

n. countable
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈbɔɹd// UK //bˈɔːd// board Archaic General-service Informal

n. a flat piece of wood or other hard material used for a specific purpose. It can also mean the group of people who make the important decisions for a company.

n. a flat, thin, rectangular piece of rigid material; alternatively, a formal committee of people who manage or direct an organisation.


SIMPLE

The teacher writes the homework on the board.

CONTEXTUAL

The company's board met yesterday to discuss the new budget and approve the hiring of a new director.

COMPLEX

After the storm, the shopkeeper used a thick wooden board to cover the broken window until a glazier could arrive to replace the glass.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

From backboard.

Usage

When referring to a committee, it can take either a singular or plural verb in British English, but usually takes a singular verb in American English.

Idioms6 entries

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