Meaning & use
main board
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Meanings
nouncountablebusinessBritish
The group of senior directors who control a large company, as opposed to boards of its subsidiaries.
Grammar: Used with the: 'the main board'.
Patterns
- sit on the main board
- a seat on the main board
She was promoted to a seat on the main board.
The main board approved the takeover on Monday.
Decisions about pay go to the main board.
nouncountablecomputingtechnical
The main circuit board inside a computer or electronic device, which connects the other parts together.
Grammar: Often written as mainboard or motherboard.
Patterns
- replace the main board
The technician replaced the faulty main board in the laptop.
All the cables connect to the main board.
A cracked main board can stop a phone from starting.
Word forms
| plural | main boards |
|---|
Common combinations
- sit on the main board
- Only six executives sit on the main board.
- main board director
- He became a main board director at forty.
- main board meeting
- The main board meeting is held quarterly.
- replace the main board
- Replacing the main board costs more than the phone is worth.
Synonyms and how they differ
- board of directors
- Board of directors is the general term, while main board separates the top board from smaller boards in the group.
- motherboard
- Motherboard is the usual computing word and is more familiar than main board.
- mainboard
- Mainboard is the one-word spelling common in technical writing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: main board or mainframe?
main board vs mainframe
A mainframe is a large computer, not a board inside one.
Practice
At a large British company, a director on the main board is ______.
Choose one answer.
The main board is the senior board of directors. Junior staff and ordinary shareholders do not sit on it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “main board”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.