1
: placed to win if a competitor wins, places, or shows
an across-the-board racing bet
2
: embracing or affecting all classes or categories : blanket
an across-the-board price increase

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web That’s all speculation, because the United States has never experienced an across-the-board economic default before. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 15 May 2023 Offering an across-the-board 30% rebate, with an additional 10% bonus to productions that partner with local VFX houses, the country’s Tax Rebate for Intl. Ben Croll, Variety, 14 May 2023 David had a season-high 23 kills, Rowan logged a season-high 60 assists and Norris had a career-high five aces alongside Knight’s across-the-board contributions of 15 kills, six digs, three blocks and two aces. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2023 The probability of a classic, across-the-board recession by the end of this year or next seems to be going up, according to several economists. Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 3 May 2023 In addition, Thao has required some across-the-board cuts from all city departments — resulting in the elimination of some vacant positions. Sarah Ravani, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 2023 Namely, educators are looking for a substantial across-the-board raise. Talia Richman, Dallas News, 26 Apr. 2023 Otherwise, the one-year period from March 2022 to March 2023 saw across-the-board drops in home prices in Utah’s main housing markets. Andrew Depietro, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023 The government proposed two unprecedented options: An across-the-board cut, or reductions following a water-rights priority system. Harold Maass, The Week, 12 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'across-the-board.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of across-the-board was in 1945

Dictionary Entries Near across-the-board

Cite this Entry

“Across-the-board.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/across-the-board. Accessed 27 May. 2023.

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