Definition

Noun: 1. A device for washing clothes: A washboard is a traditional laundry tool. It is a rectangular board with a corrugated, ridged metal surface. Clothes are scrubbed against this ridged surface by hand, using soap and water, to remove dirt. 2. A protective plank on a boat: In nautical contexts, a washboard is a broad plank or a set of planks fitted along the gunwale (the upper edge of a boat's side). Its purpose is to prevent water from splashing over the side into the boat.

Examples

• Laundry Device:
  • Before washing machines, people used a washboard and a tub to clean their clothes.
  • She scrubbed the stained shirt vigorously against the washboard.
• Nautical Plank:
  • The sailor secured the washboard in place before the storm hit.
  • We removed the washboards from the cockpit to get more air down below.

Advanced Usage

• "Washboard abs": This is a common idiomatic expression. It describes a very well-defined, muscular abdomen with clear vertical ridges, which is said to resemble the corrugated surface of a laundry washboard.
  • After months of training, he finally achieved washboard abs.

Variants and Related Words

• Washboarding (noun): A related concept, often referring to a series of regular ridges or corrugations on a surface, such as on a dirt road caused by traffic.
• Scrub board: Another term for the laundry washboard.

Synonyms

• For the laundry device: Scrubbing board, laundry board.
• For the nautical plank: Splashboard, weatherboard.

Related Idioms

• "Have a washboard stomach": This idiom has the same meaning as "have washboard abs," describing a very toned and muscular stomach.
  • The lifeguard was famous for his washboard stomach.

Noun

1. protective covering consisting of a broad plank along a gunwale to keep water from splashing over the side
2. device consisting of a corrugated surface to scrub clothes on