board (boards plural & 3rd person present) (boarding present participle) (boarded past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A board is a flat, thin, rectangular piece of wood or plastic which is used for a particular purpose.
usu n N
...a chopping board.
2 n-count A board is a square piece of wood or stiff cardboard that you use for playing games such as chess.
...a draughts board...
3 n-count You can refer to a blackboard or a noticeboard as a board.
He wrote a few more notes on the board.
4 n-count Boards are long flat pieces of wood which are used, for example, to make floors or walls.
The floor was draughty bare boards.
5 n-count Theboard of a company or organization is the group of people who control it and direct it. (BUSINESS) oft the N in sing
(=management)
Arthur wants to put his recommendation before the board at a meeting tomorrow., ...the agenda for the September 12 board meeting.
→
board of directors
6 n-count Board is used in the names of various organizations which are involved in dealing with a particular kind of activity.
usu the n N
The Scottish Tourist Board said 33,000 Japanese visited Scotland last year., ...the US National Transportation Safety Board.
7 verb When you board a train, ship, or aircraft, you get on it in order to travel somewhere.
FORMAL
(=get on)
I boarded the plane bound for England. V n, Also V
8 n-uncount Board is the food which is provided when you stay somewhere, for example in a hotel.
Free room and board are provided for all hotel staff.
10 An arrangement or deal that is above board is legal and is being carried out honestly and openly.
above board phrase usu v-link PHR
All I knew about were Antony's own financial dealings, which were always above board.
11 If a policy or a situation applies across the board, it affects everything or everyone in a particular group.
across the board phrase usu PHR after v, PHR n
There are hefty charges across the board for one-way rental..., The President promised across-the-board tax cuts if re-elected.
12 If something goes by the board, it is rejected or ignored, or is no longer possible.
go by the board phrase V inflects
It's a case of not what you know but who you know in this world today and qualifications quite go by the board.
13 When you are on board a train, ship, or aircraft, you are on it or in it.
on board phrase PHR after v, v-link PHR, oft PHR n
They arrived at Gatwick airport on board a plane chartered by the Italian government..., ...a naval task force with two thousand marines on board.
14 If someone sweeps the board in a competition or election, they win nearly everything that it is possible to win.
sweep the board phrase V inflects
Spain swept the board in boys' team competitions.
15 If you take on board an idea or a problem, you begin to accept it or understand it.
take on board phrase V inflects
I hope that they will take on board some of what you have said. board up phrasal verb If you board up a door or window, you fix pieces of wood over it so that it is covered up.
Shopkeepers have boarded up their windows. V P n (not pron), Also V n P
boarded up adj
Half the shops are boarded up on the estate's small shopping street.
