backboard
noun
back·board
| \ ˈbak-ˌbȯrd
\
\
Definition of backboard
1
: a board placed at or serving as the back of something
especially
: a rounded or rectangular board behind the basket on a basketball court which serves to keep missed shots from going out-of-bounds and from which the ball can be made to rebound into the basket
2
: a stiff board on which an injured person and especially one with neck or spinal injuries is placed and immobilized in order to prevent further injury during transport
Examples of backboard in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Then Costley flips it over his head and off the backboard for a few easy lay-ups. — Pat Stoetzer, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Basketball: Westminster star Herman Costley ‘was always the best player’," 13 July 2019 Helping Federer get through the third set was serving and volleying repeatedly on second serves as Wawrinka returned from around the backboard. — Ravi Ubha, CNN, "Federer, Nadal to meet at French Open for first time since 2011," 4 June 2019 The first set was chock with long, physical rallies, with Thiem proving every bit the human backboard that Nadal is on clay. — Liz Clarke, The Denver Post, "Rafael Nadal wins 12th French Open title with victory over Dominic Thiem," 9 June 2019 Checked by shot-blocking force Sagaba Konate, Sims flashed the slightest ball fake, rocketed left and exploded off two feet, finishing on the defender's head with a slam that caused the backboard to quake. — Nick Moyle, Houston Chronicle, "UT’s gutsy overtime win might have sealed NCAA berth," 3 Mar. 2018 Hof spun toward the baseline and got a great look — the ball hitting the backboard first, then the back of the rim, then rolled to the left side of the rim before finally spinning off. — Tim Reynolds, The Seattle Times, "Arizona State holds on late, ousts Miami 57-55," 24 Mar. 2019 Mitchell opened the contest by throwing the ball off one backboard, catching it in midair, and dunking on a different hoop. — Joe Vardon, cleveland.com, "Donovan Mitchell edges Larry Nance in NBA Slam Dunk contest," 17 Feb. 2018 Sam Hauser rebounded for Marquette, but missed the desperation heave that harmlessly hit the bottom of the backboard. — Jim Hoehn, The Seattle Times, "Ponds lifts St. John’s past No. 10 Marquette 70-69," 5 Feb. 2019 After Oladipo drove to the rim with ferocity and got a step on James, Indiana's All-Star put the ball off the backboard with some spin. — Chris Fedor, cleveland.com, "LeBron James' block against Victor Oladipo in Game 5 should have been ruled goaltending, according to NBA," 26 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'backboard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for backboard
backboard
noun
English Language Learners Definition of backboard
basketball
: the board behind the basket
See the full definition for backboard in the English Language Learners Dictionary
backboard
noun
back·board
| \ -ˌbȯrd
\
\
Medical Definition of backboard
: a stiff board on which an injured person and especially one with neck or spinal injuries is placed and immobilized in order to prevent further injury during transport
Keep scrolling for more