sounding board

noun

1
a
: a structure behind or over a pulpit, rostrum, or platform to give distinctness and sonority to sound
b
: a device or agency that helps propagate opinions or utterances
c
: a person or group on whom one tries out an idea or opinion as a means of evaluating it
2

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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

My friend is my sounding board for new ideas.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Lila needs a friend and a sounding board at this point, not a life coach. Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2024 Horowitz sold him some forty archives and collections, for about $25 million, and routinely used him as a sounding board and a stalking horse. Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024 The former speaker served as a sounding board for Democratic lawmakers who were concerned with Biden’s campaign. Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 22 July 2024 Fiennes expresses the dismay and escalating pressure of being the sounding board and moral center of the decision-making. Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sounding board 

Word History

First Known Use

1729, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sounding board was in 1729

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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 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

sounding board

noun
1
: a structure behind or over a speaker's platform to make sound uttered from it clear
2
: a means for helping to spread opinions
3
: a person or group on whom new ideas or opinions are tested

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