drawing-board
Definition
- Noun:
- A flat board used for drafting or sketching: A drawing board is a flat, portable surface, typically made of wood or plastic, used by artists, architects, and engineers to hold paper while drawing, sketching, or drafting technical plans.
Usage Examples
- (A flat surface for drafting.)
- (A tool used in technical drawing.)
Advanced Usage
"to go back to the drawing board": To start over from the beginning after a plan or design has failed.
- After the prototype failed testing, the team had to go back to the drawing board. (They had to completely rethink their approach.)
"on the drawing board": In the planning or early design stage.
- The new highway project is still on the drawing board. (It is being planned but not yet built.)
Variants and Related Words
Drawing (n): the art or technique of representing objects, forms, or ideas by lines and marks on a surface.
- Her drawing of the landscape was very detailed. (A pictorial representation created with lines.)
Board (n): a flat, thin piece of material, such as wood or plastic, used for various purposes.
- He cut the board to size for the shelf. (A flat piece of material.)
Drawing pin (n): a short, sharp pin with a flat head, used to fasten paper to a surface like a drawing board.
- She used a drawing pin to attach the blueprint to the drawing board. (A pin for securing paper.)
Synonyms
- Drafting table: A large, adjustable table used for technical drawing (often has a tiltable top).
- Sketchpad: A pad of paper for sketching (not a board itself, but a related tool).
Related Idioms
- Back to the drawing board: As in Advanced Usage; a common idiom meaning to start over due to failure.
- Our marketing campaign failed, so it's back to the drawing board. (We must begin again with a new strategy.)