board

noun

• 1a long, thin, flat piece of wood or other hard material, used for floors or other building purposes:loose boards creaked as I walked on them sections of board
• (the boards) informal the stage of a theater.

• 2a thin, flat, rectangular piece of wood or other stiff material used for various purposes, in particular.
• a vertical surface on which to write or pin notices.
• a horizontal surface on which to cut things, play games, or perform other activities.
• a flat insulating sheet used as a mounting for an electronic circuit:a graphics board
• the piece of equipment on which a person stands in surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and certain other sports.
• (boards) the wooden structure surrounding an ice-hockey rink.
• (usually boards) Basketballinformal term for backboard, referring specifically to rebounding.the absence of center David Robinson to dominate on the boards
• (boards) pieces of thick stiff cardboard or, originally, wood used for book covers.

• 3 [treated as singular or plural] a group of people constituted as the decision-making body of an organization:he sits on the board of directors [in names]:the Federal Reserve Board [as modifier]:a board meeting

• 4the provision of regular meals when one stays somewhere, in return for payment or services:your room and board will be free
• archaic a table set for a meal.

• 5 Sailing a distance covered by a vessel in a single tack.

verb

• 1 [with object] get on or into (a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle):we boarded the plane for Oslo [no object]:they would not be able to board without a ticket
• (be boarding) (of an aircraft) be ready for passengers to embark:flight 172 to Istanbul is now boarding at gate 37

• 2 [no object] live and receive regular meals in a house in return for payment or services:the cousins boarded for a while with Ruby
• (of a student) live at school during the semester in return for payment.
• [with object] provide (a person or animal) with regular meals and somewhere to live in return for payment:dogs may have to be boarded at kennels

• 3 [with object] (board something up) cover or seal a window, storefront, or other structure with pieces of wood:the shop was still boarded up

• 4 [no object] ride on a snowboard.