Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use washboard in a sentence

17 example sentences · noun, verb

Washboard means a board with a corrugated surface against which laundry may be rubbed. Example: “You will need to get on top of your nutrition in addition to training for washboard abs.”

Examples of washboard by meaning

nounA stretch of ripples or bumps on a dirt or gravel road caused by interaction between traffic and road surface.

  • It's a rough trip no matter how you come, for these washboard roads will loosen up even brandnew cars pretty fast; and hitchhikers always find the going bad.1948, Truman Capote, Other Voices, Other Rooms, Part One, 1
  • As I jump in, he spins out and takes off up the road in the direction the plane came from, bouncing dangerously over washboards and ruts.2009, Chinle Miller, Desert Rats: Adventures in the American Outback, page 35

nounA flat-chested woman.

  • "Shut it, washboard." "Huh?!" Here I was trying to comfort him, and what did I get for my troubles?2022 November 18, Saitosa, Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It! Volume 2, J-Novel Club, →ISBN

verbTo produce a rippled texture on a surface.

  • Doug came up with a half-guilty smile and washboarded his forehead at her.1967, James Jones, Go to the Widow-Maker, page 515
  • The rip that was generated by each change of tide had scoured the bottom white and washboarded the sand where it was still layered over the hardpan coral floor.1992, Ocean Realm, page 17
  • The low bass brruummmp of 20-mm slugs going out washboarded the bulkheads.1997, David Poyer, The Passage: A Thriller, →ISBN

verbTo play a washboard.

  • It's almost as if the urge to washboard is intrinsically human.2008, The New Yorker, page 28

verbTo move up and down or back and forth across the surface of a hive, possibly to lay down a layer of propolis and wax.

  • Individual bees have been observed washboarding on the inside glass of an observation hive.2015, James E. Tew, The Beekeeper's Problem Solver, →ISBN, page 73
  • This behaviour is believed to be associated with general cleaning activities but under what circumstances workers washboard is not known.2015, Robert Owen, The Australian Beekeeping Manual, →ISBN, page 19-51

More sentences with washboard

  • You will need to get on top of your nutrition in addition to training for washboard abs.From the entry on top of
  • Washboards went the way of the dinosaurs when washing machines became commonplace.From the entry go the way of the dinosaurs
  • The flute tips and the buckling or washboarding between the flutes tips can be seen easily.2005, Tappi Journal - Volume 4, page 7. From the entry washboarding
  • One of the most challenging are the whoop-de-doo bumps, also known as washboard roads.1993, Bob Italia, Motocross, →ISBN, page 25. From the entry whoop-de-doo
  • As the surface aged with traffic, the washboarding decreased in severity.1990, Harold W. Muncy, Asphalt Emulsions - Issue 1079, →ISBN, page 67. From the entry washboarding
  • Chances are good that it is extremely washboarded by now.2010, Geoffrey Landgraf, All Around Bend, →ISBN, page 99. From the entry washboarded
  • The instruments in the Kweskin band, which are typical, include guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, jug, washtub bass, washboard, kazoo, and penny whistle.1968, "Jug Band: Washboard Virtuosos," Evening Independent (Florida, USA), 14 March, p. 5D (retrieved 23 Aug. 2010). From the entry jug band
  • Not only do they sing but they broadcast tunes from their "jug band," consisting of a gallon jug, as washboard and a skillet, a fiddle and a guitar.1933 March 18, “The Southern Singers”, in The Afro-American, page 9. From the entry jug band

Meaning of washboard

  1. noun A board with a corrugated surface against which laundry may be rubbed.
  2. noun Such a board used as a simple percussion instrument.
  3. noun A board fastened along a ship's gunwale to prevent splashing; a splashboard.

Full definition of washboard

Questions about washboard in a sentence

How do you use washboard in a sentence?
Washboard is used as a noun and verb. For example: “You will need to get on top of your nutrition in addition to training for washboard abs.”
What is a short sentence with washboard?
“Chances are good that it is extremely washboarded by now.”
What does washboard mean?
Washboard means a board with a corrugated surface against which laundry may be rubbed.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: washboard (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use washboard in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/washboard. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.