sounding board
noun
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The Literal Origins of Sounding Board
Beginning during the Renaissance, a flat wooden canopy called a sounding board was placed over church pulpits, amplifying the sound of the preacher's voice, carrying it to the farthest reaches of the church. Similarly, ideas can be spread by a figurative sounding board. A publication, for example, can be a sounding board for propaganda. That's one modern sense of the word. But when sound bounces off a literal sounding board, not only does it reach more people, it also comes across more clearly. Likewise, bouncing ideas off another person can lend clarity to one's thought processes. If someone comes to you and says "How does this sound?" and leaves with his or her mind made up (whether or not you've ventured a word), you have served as a very effective sounding board.
Examples of sounding board in a Sentence
Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 8 Aug. 2024
Who decided that women get to be society's sounding board for words that feel like shadows?
—Hazlitt, 14 Aug. 2024
Staley will be a sounding board if necessary, at practice and up in the booth on game days while Sorensen coordinates on the field.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
Aim to be a sounding board rather than try to solve their problems for them.
—Sarah Vanbuskirk, Parents, 29 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for sounding board 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sounding board.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sounding board
Cite this Entry
“Sounding board.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sounding%20board. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.
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