Meaning & use
headboard
Last updated
UK/ˈhedbɔːd/
US/ˈhedbɔːrd/
Meaning
nouncountable
An upright board or panel fixed at the end of a bed where you rest your head.
Grammar: A plain countable noun: a headboard, two headboards.
Patterns
- a headboard on a bed
- lean against the headboard
She leaned back against the padded headboard and read her book.
The carpenter built a wooden headboard for the double bed.
A shelf above the headboard holds his alarm clock.
Word forms
| plural | headboards |
|---|
Common combinations
- upholstered headboard
- The upholstered headboard is soft and comfortable.
- wooden headboard
- A wooden headboard suits the country-style room.
- lean against the headboard
- He leaned against the headboard to watch TV.
- mount a headboard
- They had to mount the headboard on the wall.
- tufted headboard
- A tufted headboard gives the room a hotel look.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bedhead
- Bedhead is the British and Australian term for the same piece, but also means untidy hair.
- footboard
- A footboard is the matching panel at the foot of the bed, not the head.
- bedstead
- The bedstead is the whole bed frame, not just the part at the head.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: headboard or bedhead?
headboard vs bedhead
Bedhead can mean a headboard in British English, but in American English it means messy hair after sleeping.
Practice
What is a headboard?
Choose one answer.
A headboard is a vertical panel at the head of a bed. A pillow is soft and lies on the bed.
Make it your own
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