Meaning & use
hoverboard
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A battery-powered board with two wheels that a person stands on and steers by shifting their weight.
Grammar: Countable: ride a hoverboard.
Patterns
- ride a hoverboard
He glided down the pavement on a hoverboard.
She got a hoverboard for her birthday.
Some airlines will not let you carry a hoverboard on board.
nouncountablefigurative
In science fiction, a flying board that floats above the ground without wheels.
Grammar: Used for imaginary devices in films and stories.
The hero escaped from the villains on a hoverboard.
Fans still joke that we are waiting for a real hoverboard.
Common combinations
- ride a hoverboard
- Kids ride a hoverboard around the park.
- electric hoverboard
- An electric hoverboard needs charging overnight.
- hoverboard battery
- The hoverboard battery caught fire.
- balance on a hoverboard
- It takes practice to balance on a hoverboard.
- fall off a hoverboard
- He fell off a hoverboard and sprained a wrist.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-balancing scooter
- This is the more formal, descriptive name for the real device, while hoverboard is the popular name.
- skateboard
- A skateboard has no motor and you push it with your foot.
- segway
- Segway is a brand of upright scooter with a handle, unlike a handle-free hoverboard.
Word family
- hover verb
- To stay in the air in one place.
Commonly confused: hoverboard or skateboard?
hoverboard vs skateboard
A skateboard is pushed by foot; a hoverboard is motorized and does not need pushing.
Practice
What powers a typical modern hoverboard?
Choose one answer.
The real device is electric. Foot pushing describes a skateboard, and the other options do not apply.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hoverboard”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.