Boards

//bɔːdz// name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    plural of board form-of, plural
  2. 2
    A stage (as in a theater). informal, plural, plural-only, with-definite-article

    "I’m an actress. No—not the kind you’re thinking of, lunching at the Savoy covered with jewellery, and with their photograph in every paper saying how much they love Madame So and So’s face cream. I’ve been on the boards since I was a kid of six—tumbling."

  3. 3
    Examinations given for entry to college or to qualify for a profession. plural, plural-only
  4. 4
    (used in the plural) the boarding that surrounds an ice hockey rink wordnet
  5. 5
    Structure around a rink for ice hockey. plural, plural-only
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    (used in the plural) the stage of a theater wordnet
  2. 7
    A hardcover binding on a book. informal, plural, plural-only

    "His new novel just came out in boards. The paperback will follow in about a year."

Verb
  1. 1
    third-person singular simple present indicative of board form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    plural of Board form-of, plural

Synonyms

All synonyms
acting areaapronapron stagebackstageband shellbandstand

Example

More examples

"There are gaps between the boards in the box. If you fit them in snugly, you'll get more use out of the box."

Etymology

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Etymology 2

From College Board tests.

Related phrases

tread the boardswalk the boards

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.