Join free

backboard

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

backboard¹

Where it comes from

From back + board.

noun backboards

  1. The flat vertical surface to which the basket is attached.
  2. A flat vertical wall with the image of a tennis net drawn or painted on it, designed to practice hitting against such that the ball rebounds.
  3. A spine board.
  4. A board placed at the back of a cart, boat, behind a signal, etc. The L.B.S.C.R. favoured backboards for signals wherever these helped visibility. The Great Eastern also made extensive use of backboards.

verb backboards · backboarding · backboarded

  1. transitive To place (a patient) on a spine board.

backboard²

Where it comes from

Likely a borrowing from Dutch bakboord (“portside”) or from Middle Low German backbort, bakbōrt (“portside”). Old English bæcbord (“larboard, portside”) did not survive (in that form) into Middle English; Scottish texts of the 1500s have forms like bawbord, baburd and babord, possibly borrowed from French bâbord; later texts with Scots backburd, backber may have borrowed it from Old Norse bakborði (“portside”). Cognate with West Frisian bakboard (“portside”), German Backbord (“portside”), Danish bagbord (“portside”).

noun backboards

  1. uncountable, usually The port or larboard side of a ship And to delight in the fact that a hole on the backboard side means that you're safe because you're sitting on the starboard side seems to me to be less than clever.

    Similar: port, larboard, leeboard, left · Opposite: starboard

Translations

Every language

noun basketball

한국어백보드 baekbodeu
日本語バックボード bakkubōdo
中文籃板 /篮板 lánbǎn
Portuguêstabela
Ελληνικάταμπλό tampló

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"backboard." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/backboard. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

backboard. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/backboard

Chicago

"backboard." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/backboard.

BibTeX
@misc{backboard_2026,
  title = {backboard},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/backboard},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}