freeboard

noun

free·​board ˈfrē-ˌbȯrd How to pronounce freeboard (audio)
1
: the distance between the waterline and the main deck or weather deck of a ship or between the level of the water and the upper edge of the side of a small boat
2
: the height above the recorded high-water mark of a structure (such as a dam) associated with the water

Examples of freeboard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Several experienced boaters pointed out that Pickles’ Chris-Craft appeared to have a low freeboard, the distance between the rim of the boat and the surface of the water. Ethan Wolin updated July 4, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2025 One problem was that DUKW’s low freeboard, a nautical term that describes the difference between the waterline and a vessel’s main deck. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 17 Jan. 2023 Only a few small inches of freeboard lay between the water and the top of my gunwales. Florence Williams, Outside Online, 1 Feb. 2022 New Jersey and New York instituted two feet of freeboard after Superstorm Sandy. Alex Harris, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Dec. 2019 The present system is overdesigned for those surges, with earthen levees and concrete structures containing as much as 3 feet of extra storage space, or freeboard, to account for subsidence and sea level rise over their 50-year design life. Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com, 22 May 2018 Or consider Nashville, Tennessee, which has a freeboard of 4 feet. Thom Patterson, CNN, 31 Aug. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1718, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of freeboard was in 1718

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Cite this Entry

“Freeboard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freeboard. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

freeboard

noun
free·​board ˈfrē-ˌbō(ə)rd How to pronounce freeboard (audio)
-ˌbȯ(ə)rd
: the distance between the waterline and the upper edge of the side of a ship or boat

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