clapboard

noun

clap·​board ˈkla-bərd  ˈkla(p)-ˌbȯrd 

1

archaic : a size of board for making staves and wainscoting

2

: a narrow board usually thicker at one edge than the other used for siding

3

ˈklap-ˌbȯrd  : a pair of hinged boards one of which has a slate with data identifying a piece of film and which are banged together in front of a motion-picture camera at the start of a take to facilitate editing

called also clapper board

clapboard transitive verb

Examples of clapboard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Many of the old dogtrot homes and clapboard houses can be found around the state. —Curtis Varnell The Timepiece, arkansasonline.com, 13 Oct. 2024

In September, Porte Jacquemus visits New York to oversee final renovations to his first American storefront, housed within a clapboard edifice on the corner of Spring and Wooster streets. —Nathan Heller, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2024

New York Yankees legend and Fox Sports analyst Derek Jeter is trading in his cleats for a clapboard. —Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Cambridge, Massachusetts, clapboard home The Affleck boys were raised by their elementary-schoolteacher mom in Cambridge, Massachusetts. —Michelle Duncan, Architectural Digest, 15 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

partial translation of Dutch klaphout stave wood

First Known Use

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

clapboard

noun

clap·​board ˈklab-ərd  ˈkla(p)-ˌbō(ə)rd 

-ˌbȯ(ə)rd

: a narrow board thicker at one edge than at the other used to cover the sides of wooden buildings

clapboard verb