above-board
Syllables: a·bove·board/əˈbʌvˌbɔɹd/
above-board adjective: in open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception.
Adjective
above-board (not comparable)
- In open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception.
- fair and aboveboard
- Nothing illegal about any of this to my knowledge. Indeed, this is the very above-board racket of running an independent political committee. Everyone does it. Left, right, center and none of the above. And anyway, why shouldn't a true pay-triot get paid?2013 May 15, Stephen Lemons, “Joe Arpaio's Fave Pay-triot John Philip Sousa IV Fires Back, Makes Bank Off Peddling Joe”, in Phoenix New Times, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2019
Adverb
above-board (not comparable)
- Honestly; openly.
- Synonyms:
- straightforward, transparent
above-board meaning in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada
above-board in Tamil
- சந்தேகத்திற்கு அப்பாற்பட்டு, சுத்தமாக
above-board in Malayalam
- കള്ളമില്ലാതെ, സത്യസന്ധതയുള്ള, സത്യസന്ധത, പരസ്യമായി, പ്രകടമായി, വഞ്ചനയില്ലാത്ത
above-board in Kannada
- ನಿಷ್ಕಲ್ಮಷವಾದ, ದೋಷರಹಿತವಾದ, ಅನುಮಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸ್ಥಳವಿಲ್ಲದ, ಸಂಶಯಾಸ್ಪದವಲ್ಲದ
Synonyms of above-board
Forms of above-board
| alternative form | aboveboard |
|---|---|
| alternative form | above board |
| alternative form (dated) | above the board |
Origin of above-board
From above + board (“table”). First attested in 1610. Said by Johnson to have been borrowed from gamblers, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table.
Questions about above-board
- What does above-board mean?
- Above-board means in open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception.
- What is above-board in Tamil?
- Above-board in Tamil is சந்தேகத்திற்கு அப்பாற்பட்டு, சுத்தமாக. See Above-board meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is above-board?
- Above-board can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce above-board?
- Above-board is pronounced /əˈbʌvˌbɔɹd/ (US).
Words near above-board in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: above-board (page history and authors); above-board (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); above-board (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); above-board (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-above-board.wav.
Cite this entry: “above-board.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/above-board. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.