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

In 1856, enslaved people built the white clapboard structure when what is now Leawood and south Kansas City were large swaths of prairie. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2025

Naturally, Wiggins’s first priority was to preserve and enhance the spartan cottage’s existing architecture: the façade of rough-hewn local stone, quaint clapboard walls, restored wood floors, and exposed ceiling beams. —Laura May Todd, Architectural Digest, 6 Jan. 2025

Sign In Home Tour White Arrow transforms the interiors of a white clapboard house in Westchester County Photography by Thomas Richter February 10, 2025 All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. —Andrew Sessa, Architectural Digest, 10 Feb. 2025

Drawn on the outside of the envelope was a clapboard house with an open window. —airmail.news, 1 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

partial translation of Dutch klaphout stave wood

First Known Use

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for clapboard

• abhorred
• aboard
• accord
• adored
• afford
• award
• baseboard
• billboard
• blackboard
• boxboard
• breadboard
• broadsword

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