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

The condition causes fluid to fill in the lungs, creating a sense of drowning that some experts have likened to chemical waterboarding. —Kelly Puente, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

It has also been revealed that waterboarding was done by a three-person interrogation team led by Bruce Jessen and James E. Mitchell, two former contract psychologists for the agency. —Carol Rosenberg, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025

The series was sold on co-creator Ryan Murphy’s trademark snark; the first line spoken in the pilot was a waterboarding joke. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 Aug. 2024

That's where Elijah and six other boys made numerous claims of abuse, including waterboarding, whippings, beatings and starvation. —Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2024

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