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

go aboard ship

aboard a plane

Examples of aboard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb or adjective

Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner’s Bad Wolf has jumped aboard in the past couple of years as has Apple, which has an exclusive deal with Playtone after making the likes of Greyhound and Masters of the Air. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2025

The ship was listing badly when the crew abandoned it, leaving only volunteers aboard to help tow it back to Pearl Harbor, historians say. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2025

Preposition

Holland was the only person aboard the two-seat aircraft. —David Matthews, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2025

Shenzhou 20's launch and docking came on a big spaceflight anniversary: On April 24, 1990, NASA's iconic Hubble Space Telescope reached orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 24 Apr. 2025

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