Meaning & use
backboard
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Meanings
nouncountablesport
The flat board behind a basketball hoop that a player can bounce the ball off.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a backboard' or 'the backboard'; plural is 'backboards'.
Patterns
- hit the backboard
- off the backboard
- a shot off the backboard
He aimed carefully and banked the ball off the backboard.
The new backboard was made of clear glass so fans could see through it.
She jumped and touched the backboard with both hands.
nouncountablemedical
A stiff board used to support someone's back or neck, especially in medical care.
Grammar: Countable: 'a backboard' or 'the backboard'.
Patterns
- on a backboard
- strap someone to a backboard
The injured climber was carried down the mountain on a backboard.
Paramedics strapped him to a backboard before moving him.
Word forms
| plural | backboards |
|---|
Common combinations
- off the backboard
- He scored with a lucky shot off the backboard.
- hit the backboard
- The ball hit the backboard and went in.
- bank shot off the backboard
- She practiced bank shots off the backboard every day.
- glass backboard
- The arena installed a new glass backboard.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: backboard or backboard?
backboard vs backboard
Not to be confused with 'backboard' as a misspelling of 'backboard'? The correct spelling is 'backboard' (back + board). The common misspelling 'backborad' is wrong.
Practice
In basketball, what is the backboard?
Choose one answer.
The backboard is the flat board behind the hoop that players can bounce the ball off. The net is the mesh hanging from the rim, the line is on the floor, and the defender is a player.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “backboard”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.