waterboarding

noun

wa·​ter·​board·​ing ˈwȯ-tər-ˌbȯr-diŋ 

ˈwä-

: an interrogation technique usually regarded as a form of torture in which water is forced into a detainee's mouth and nose so as to induce the sensation of drowning

Examples of waterboarding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His father was a dockworker, his mother a waitress whose cooking Welsh once compared to waterboarding. — Sam Davies, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2025

The condition causes fluid to fill in the lungs, creating a sense of drowning that some experts have likened to chemical waterboarding. — Kelly Puente, Nashville Tennessean, 17 Mar. 2025

Some detainees were shackled in painful positions, locked in boxes the size of coffins, kept awake for over 100 hours at a time, and forced to inhale water in a process known as waterboarding. — Douglas A. Johnson, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2016

In the calls, Mary detailed to the deputies the steps Nathan was taking to kill her, from affixing a tracker on her car to stashing a black backpack in her garage containing duct tape, zip ties and a note with the word ‘waterboarding’ written on it. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2004, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for waterboarding

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