backboard

noun

back·​board ˈbak-ˌbȯrd 

1

: a board placed at or serving as the back of something

especially : a rounded or rectangular board behind the basket on a basketball court which serves to keep missed shots from going out-of-bounds and from which the ball can be made to rebound into the basket

2

: a stiff board on which an injured person and especially one with neck or spinal injuries is placed and immobilized in order to prevent further injury during transport

Examples of backboard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Alex Rodriguez made a halfcourt shot at a Bucknell University men’s basketball game, winning $10,000 for a student on Sunday. Rodriguez, wearing a bright orange Bucknell t-shirt, banked the shot in off the backboard at halftime of Bucknell’s eventual 84-53 win over Army. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025

But maybe the final shot, the frantic one that assaulted the backboard, shouldn’t have counted. —Fred Katz, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025

The ball smashed off the backboard before going in, and as the expression goes, the bank was open. —Scott Thompson, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2025

Off the backboard, no less, just as his father had always taught him: Use the glass. —Janie McCauley, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for backboard

• abroad
• applaud
• ballade
• defraud
• ephod
• facade
• guffawed
• outlawed
• ramrod
• roughshod
• slipshod
• tripod

Kids Definition

backboard

noun

back·​board ˈbak-ˌbōrd 

-ˌbȯrd

: a board placed at the back or serving as a back

especially : a rounded or rectangular board behind the basket on a basketball court

Medical Definition

backboard

noun

back·​board -ˌbȯrd 

: a stiff board on which an injured person and especially one with neck or spinal injuries is placed and immobilized in order to prevent further injury during transport