What does washboard mean?
Word: Washboard
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Washboard means a board with a ridged surface on which clothes are rubbed to clean them; also anything with a similar ridged surface.
Synonyms: scrubbing board
How do you spell washboard?
Syllables: wash - board
Tricky part: The second half is board, with oa, not bord or bored, because the word really is a board for washing.
Watch out for: washbord, washbaord, washborde
Memory tip: A washboard is a board for washing. Board and boat share the same oa, so picture the wooden board bobbing like a little boat in the washing tub.
Washboard in a sentence
Example 1: Before washing machines, my great-grandmother scrubbed clothes on a washboard.
Example 2: The dirt road was rippled like a washboard after the rains.
Example 3: At the village fair we saw a wooden washboard over a hundred years old.
Fun Fact
The washboard is also a musical instrument. Players in jazz and zydeco bands scrape its ridges with thimbles or spoons to keep the rhythm.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) doormatt
b) washboard
c) tablecloath
d) bedsheat
Show answer
b) washboard. Bedsheet, tablecloth and doormat each have a wrong or an extra letter here.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
washeboard
a) o
b) h
c) a
d) e
Show answer
d) e. Wash joins board directly, with no e in between.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
dobawrash
a) dashboard
b) washboard
c) switchboard
d) skateboard
Show answer
b) washboard. The jumble has a w and only one d, so it cannot be dashboard.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) washboard
b) bucket
c) laundary
d) detergent
Show answer
c) laundary. Laundry has no a between the d and the r.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Before washing machines, a washboard was used to ____.
a) fold sheets into neat piles
b) scrub the dirt out of clothes
c) press creases out of shirts
d) squeeze water out of towels
Show answer
b) scrub the dirt out of clothes
2. If an athlete has a 'washboard stomach', the stomach is ____.
a) round and soft to touch
b) full after a large meal
c) flat with ridged muscles
d) easily upset by food
Show answer
c) flat with ridged muscles
