boarding

nounB13 meaningsVery rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Boarding is getting on a plane, a ship or a train, and you mostly meet the word in an announcement: boarding will begin at gate twelve in ten minutes. You show your boarding pass, and the queue shuffles forward.

Boarding is also living at a school during term, which is what a boarding school is for, and taking in an animal while its owner is away: kennels and catteries charge for boarding by the night, and the good ones are full by June. Its oldest meaning is plain wood — boarding is boards nailed side by side, on a fence or over a broken window.

Definitions of boarding

1nounboardingGetting on a plane, a ship or a train.B1
“Boarding closes twenty minutes before the flight leaves.”
2nounanimalLooking after somebody's pet in kennels or a cattery while they are away.C1
“A week's boarding for the dog cost more than our flights.”
3nounboardsBoards fixed side by side to make a wall, a fence or a cover.C1
“The shop windows were covered with boarding after the storm.”

← Vocabulary

boarding

Definitions of boarding

1nounboardingGetting on a plane, a ship or a train.B1
“Boarding closes twenty minutes before the flight leaves.”
2nounanimalLooking after somebody's pet in kennels or a cattery while they are away.C1
“A week's boarding for the dog cost more than our flights.”
3nounboardsBoards fixed side by side to make a wall, a fence or a cover.C1
“The shop windows were covered with boarding after the storm.”