sounding board
noun
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The Literal Origins of Sounding Board
Beginning during the Renaissance, a flat wooden canopy called a sounding board was placed over church pulpits, amplifying the sound of the preacher's voice, carrying it to the farthest reaches of the church. Similarly, ideas can be spread by a figurative sounding board. A publication, for example, can be a sounding board for propaganda. That's one modern sense of the word. But when sound bounces off a literal sounding board, not only does it reach more people, it also comes across more clearly. Likewise, bouncing ideas off another person can lend clarity to one's thought processes. If someone comes to you and says "How does this sound?" and leaves with his or her mind made up (whether or not you've ventured a word), you have served as a very effective sounding board.
Examples of sounding board in a Sentence
Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025
After spending two years as Young’s sideline sounding board, Dalton’s future is somewhat open-ended, despite his outspoken desire to stick around.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 18 Feb. 2025
At its best, their devotion creates something symbiotic — a real-life sounding board for his ideas.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2025
The cast includes her bird pal and sounding board, Romeo (Dee Bradley Baker, whistling) and friends Petey (Vedanten Naidoo), who uses a wheelchair, and Teeny (Amari McCoy), who is only a little teeny.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sounding board
Cite this Entry
“Sounding board.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sounding%20board. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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