washboard

Everyday

1. A board with ridges on it, once used for scrubbing clothes when washing them by hand. tree →
2. A washboard used as a musical instrument, played by scraping it, in skiffle and folk music. tree →
3. (informal) Washboard stomach: very flat, strong stomach muscles. tree →
4. A bumpy dirt road with ridges is called washboard road (North America). tree →

In the lessons

A history and everyday word. Before washing machines, people scrubbed clothes on a washboard in a tub. In The Wind in the Willows Toad escapes prison dressed as a washerwoman and later has to wash clothes on a barge — and is no good at it. In music, washboards are played in skiffle and jug bands.

Examples

• Grandma's grandma scrubbed shirts on a washboard. tree →
• Toad tried to wash the clothes but splashed everywhere. tree →
• The skiffle band had a guitar and a washboard. tree →
• The museum had an old tin washboard. tree →
• The dirt road was like a washboard. tree →
• He scraped the washboard with thimbles on his fingers. tree →

Note

Countable noun, plural «washboards». Compound of «wash» + «board».