washboard

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Related to washboard: Washboard Abs

wash·board

(wŏsh′bôrd′, wôsh′-)

a. A board having a corrugated surface on which clothes can be rubbed in the process of laundering.

b. Music A similar board used as a percussion instrument.

2. A board fastened to a wall at the floor; a baseboard.

3. Nautical A thin plank fastened to the side of a boat or to the sill of a port to keep out the sea and the spray.

adj.

Having rows of ridges or indentations similar to those of a washboard: washboard abs; a washboard dirt road.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

washboard

(ˈwɒʃˌbɔːd)

1. (Clothing & Fashion) a board having a surface, usually of corrugated metal, on which esp formerly, clothes were scrubbed

2. (Instruments) such a board used as a rhythm instrument played with the fingers in skiffle, Country and Western music, etc

3. (Building) a less common US word for skirting board

4. (Nautical Terms) nautical

a. a vertical planklike shield fastened to the gunwales of a boat to prevent water from splashing over the side

b. Also called: splashboard a shield under a port for the same purpose

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wash•board

(ˈwɒʃˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd, ˈwɔʃ-)

n.

1. a rectangular board or frame, typically with a corrugated metallic surface, on which clothes are rubbed in the process of washing.

2. a baseboard around the walls of a room.

3. a thin, broad plank fastened to and projecting above the gunwale or side of a boat to keep out the sea.

adj.

4. resembling a washboard in being hard and ripply: washboard abs.

Washboard

A wooden frame with horizontal metal ribs running across it that clothes were rubbed against during washing. This method superseded the use of rocks to beat the clothes, and was used until the agitator method of washing was introduced.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	washboard - device consisting of a corrugated surface to scrub clothes on device - an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose; "the device is small enough to wear on your wrist"; "a device intended to conserve water"
	2.	washboard - protective covering consisting of a broad plank along a gunwale to keep water from splashing over the side splashboard protective cover, protective covering, protection - a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury; "they had no protection from the fallout"; "wax provided protection for the floors" vessel, watercraft - a craft designed for water transportation

Translations

valcha

Waschbrett

lavadero

tvättbräda

washboard

[ˈwɒʃbɔːd] N → tabla f de lavar (US) → rodapié m, zócalo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

It was certainly more agreeable to have an ill-natured humpback as a companion than to stand looking out of the study window at the rain, and kicking his foot against the washboard in solitude; something would happen every day,-- "a quarrel or something"; and Tom thought he should rather like to show Philip that he had better not try his spiteful tricks on him .

View in context

"Beats a washboard an' your knuckles, and, besides, it saves at least fifteen minutes in the week, an' fifteen minutes ain't to be sneezed at in this shebang."

View in context

From the Monday leading up to the big event, there will be a free exhibition of skiffle ephemera at the Bluecoat cafe with a bigger display on the day itself, even featuring a washboard.

ARENT'S The wonder of skiffle survives; Almost 50 years ago, Liverpool became the capital of the skiffle phenomenon, which inspired the Beatles. Now it is to host the National Skiffle Conference and Concert

If you're after a washboard stomach, then take a look at Weider's Crunch Trainer.

Shape up people: WIN! 20 Abs trainers

A washboard once played by Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame when he was a teenager failed to reach its reserve at auction.

2Plant's washboard sinks like Led balloon

Well, a Parisian washboard virtuoso ( yes, it does sound like a contradiction in terms ( turns up at a Tyneside gig next week to prove the species is no fabled creature!

Return of washboard

Accessories, like Cruella de Ville feathers, spiky heeled shoes and a washboard tummy, help her case, but even the leggy Caprice is struggling to look anything more than mediocre in this mi sh -mash.

Viva: What is she wearing?

And former pop idol Peter Andre whose legendary washboard stomach should prove handy come laundry day.

Man Of The People: Celebs will go wild in the jungle

An acoustic guitar signed by rock legends the Rolling Stones, a washboard signed by skiffle music king Lonnie Donegan, and a Dire Straits gold disc once owned by the band's front man Mark Knopfler have been donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre in Middlesbrough.

Star items to go under hammer

Three extra tracks renewed an old partnership with fellow New Yorker Washboard Chaz Leary, the pair having made Frogs For Snakes back in 1982.

So, what's in a name for a blues legend?; John Hammond has been playing the blues for nearly four decades, with 40 albums and four Grammy nominations to show for it. He talks to Martin Longley

It can be imagined as an array of balls connected by springs on a corrugated surface that resembles a washboard, all immersed in a thick fluid.

Diffusing to forget

There was not a spare ounce on Davina, 50, as she showed off her washboard stomach in Australia.