aboard

1 of 2

adverb or adjective

ə-ˈbȯrd 

1

: alongside

2

a

: on, onto, or within a vehicle (such as a car or ship)

b

: in or into a group, association, or organization

her second promotion since coming aboard

3

baseball : on base

aboard

2 of 2

preposition

: on, onto, within

—usually used with reference to vehicles

go aboard ship

aboard a plane

Examples of aboard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb or adjective

Pilots who fly commercial planes with over six passengers aboard also need medical certificates issued by official aviation medical examiners, the outlet reported. — Saleen Martin, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

Among those aboard were 35 Syracuse University students returning home from a semester abroad. — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Preposition

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a bus-sized observatory and successor to the iconic Hubble Space Telescope, is scheduled to launch Sunday morning from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket. — Josh Feldman, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026

Menon came aboard on July 14, making the trip on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adverb or adjective

Middle English abord, probably in part borrowed from Middle French a bord, a bort "on board," in part from Middle English a- a- entry 1 + bord "board, side of a ship" — more at board entry 1

Preposition

Middle English abord, derivative of abord aboard entry 1

First Known Use

Adverb Or Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Preposition

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for aboard

• abhorred
• accord
• adored
• afford
• award
• baseboard
• billboard
• blackboard
• boxboard
• breadboard
• broadsword
• buckboard

Kids Definition

aboard

1 of 2 adverb

ə-ˈbōrd 

-ˈbȯrd

: on, onto, or within a vehicle (as a car, ship, or airplane)

aboard

2 of 2 preposition

: on or into especially as a passenger

go aboard ship