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Synonyms

cardboard

American  
[kahrd-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈkɑrdˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

  1. a thin, stiff pasteboard, used for signs, boxes, etc.

adjective

  1. resembling cardboard, especially in flimsiness.

    an apartment with cardboard walls.

  2. not fully lifelike; shallow; two-dimensional.

    a play with cardboard characters.
cardboard British  
/ ˈkɑːdˌbɔːd /

noun

    1. a thin stiff board made from paper pulp and used esp for making cartons

    2. ( as modifier )

      cardboard boxes
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. (prenominal) without substance

    a cardboard smile

    a cardboard general
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cardboard

First recorded in 1840–50; card 1 + board

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One holds up a cardboard sign that says “Not Your Wild West Show!”

From Literature

There are about a dozen photos under a banner titled “Duct Tape Boat Regatta 2011–2018,” and each shows a variety of life-size rafts made of cardboard and duct tape.

From Literature

Then they added cardboard and a thick layer of mulch, using a no-dig gardening method called sheet mulching.

From Los Angeles Times

In reality, my dad’s will was in a cardboard box next to the Christmas decorations.

From Salon

Some Iranians are calling him the “cardboard ayatollah.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.