washboard

[ wosh-bawrd, -bohrd, wawsh- ]

noun

1. a rectangular board or frame, typically with a corrugated metallic surface, on which clothes are rubbed in the process of washing.
2. a baseboard around the walls of a room.
3. Also called splashboard. Nautical.
   1. a thin, broad plank fastened to and projecting above the gunwale or side of a boat to keep out the spray and sea.
   2. a similar board on the sill of a port.

adjective

1. resembling a washboard in being rough and bumpy:

   a washboard roadbed.

washboard

/ ˈwɒʃˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a board having a surface, usually of corrugated metal, on which esp formerly, clothes were scrubbed
2. such a board used as a rhythm instrument played with the fingers in skiffle, Country and Western music, etc
3. a less common US word for skirting board
4. nautical
   1. a vertical planklike shield fastened to the gunwales of a boat to prevent water from splashing over the side
   2. Also calledsplashboard a shield under a port for the same purpose

Other Words From

• washboardy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of washboard¹

First recorded in 1735–45; wash + board

Example Sentences

The Raptor isn’t built so much for climbing tricky terrain — although it can do that, too — as it is crossing dirt, mud, dust and washboard roads at speed.

From Seattle Times

They chased leads from drone pilots and inhaled dust as they rode in the back of pickup trucks barreling down washboard dirt roads.

From New York Times

His grandmother washed the Arsenal players' kit on an iron washboard behind the North Bank stand, previously known as the Laundry End.

From BBC

To generate chirps, crickets and katydids rub their forewings together, scraping a toothy vein against a smooth counterpart on the other wing, similar to a spoon raking a washboard.

From New York Times

Jane Eyre: Mr. Rochester is very conventionally attractive, with washboard abs that require him to work out every day for six hours in a complicated way and eat only eggs.

From Washington Post