clapboard

noun

clap·​board ˈkla-bərd  ˈkla(p)-ˌbȯrd 

1

archaic : a size of board for making staves and wainscoting

2

: a narrow board usually thicker at one edge than the other used for siding

3

ˈklap-ˌbȯrd  : a slate with information identifying a piece of film that is topped with a hinged arm which claps down to mark the start of a take (see take entry 2 sense 2a(1)) to facilitate editing

called also clapper board

clapboard transitive verb

Examples of clapboard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The governing board of Saline Township, a farming community of some 2,200 residents in Washtenaw County, Michigan, meets on the second Wednesday of every month in a white clapboard hall down a muddy, unpaved road. —Andrew Cockburn, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026

Here cavernous sheet-metal market halls rub shoulders with dilapidated clapboard stores. —Duncan Madden, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

This front entrance is classic, paired with white trim and a tan clapboard house. —Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 26 May 2026

On the right is a pool and two tennis courts, and in the distance there's a small white clapboard chapel. —ABC News, 26 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

partial translation of Dutch klaphout stave wood

First Known Use

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for clapboard

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

Kids Definition

clapboard

noun

clap·​board ˈklab-ərd  ˈkla(p)-ˌbō(ə)rd 

-ˌbȯ(ə)rd

: a narrow board thicker at one edge than at the other used to cover the sides of wooden buildings

clapboard verb