onboarding

noun

on·​board·​ing ˈȯn-ˌbȯr-diŋ 

ˈän-

1

: the act or process of orienting and training a new employee

… good onboarding leads to higher employee engagement and greater retention rates.

—Joyce E. A. Russell

2

: the act or process of familiarizing a new customer with one's products or services

Customer onboarding primarily involves answering customers' questions and addressing their concerns so they have a smooth, positive experience with your product or service.

—Aaron Agius

3

: the act or process of converting data to digital form

While many retailers are coming to terms with the need for data onboarding and management, there is still a massive chasm between collecting data and using it to the fullest advantage.

—Larisa Bedgood

onboard

ˈȯn-ˌbȯrd 

ˈän-

transitive verb

onboarded; onboarding

The workflow chart that was pinned to the wall was an excellent orientation for me, as a new employee, and anyone else being onboarded.

—Jill Duffy

It's easy to forget how difficult hiring people is and getting them onboarded and effective in their job.

—Sue Gilbert

Once a customer is onboarded, they can immediately start using the account for remittance payments …

—Richard Gluyas

Examples of onboarding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of focusing only on payments, the platform is designed to help subscription services manage the practical work of bundling at scale, from onboarding and entitlements to billing and performance tracking, without rebuilding those processes market by market. —Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026

Connecting with talent, evaluating talent, onboarding talents. —Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 20 Jan. 2026

That confusion often reflects a lack of cultural clarity ‒ something organizations should address pervasively, starting with hiring and onboarding. —Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026

Success in this environment means onboarding, training, auditing and retiring agents just like employees with clear policies to ensure ethics and compliance. —Joe Depa, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for onboarding

• according
• affording
• awarding
• keyboarding
• recording
• rewarding
• skateboarding
• snowboarding
• boarding
• cording
• fording
• hoarding