Broad vs. Board — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 26, 2024
Broad refers to something wide in extent or scope, while board is a flat, typically rectangular piece of wood or other stiff material.
Difference Between Broad and Board
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Broad typically describes something expansive or wide-ranging, such as a broad smile or a broad topic of study, which emphasizes extensive coverage or a wide scope. Whereas, board refers to a piece of rigid material, commonly used for construction or as a writing surface, highlighting its physical characteristics and utilities.
Broad can also imply inclusiveness or generality, as in broad categories or broad interpretations, suggesting a lack of specificity or detail. On the other hand, board can denote specific groups or committees, like a board of directors, which is defined by formal roles and specific functions within an organization.
In the context of communication, broad is often used to describe general statements or wide-reaching effects, as in broadcasting to a broad audience. Board, however, might be used to refer to the platforms where notices or information are displayed, such as a bulletin board, emphasizing its role in communication.
The usage of broad extends into expressions like "broad daylight," conveying a sense of openness and visibility, underscoring the literal and figurative breadth of the term. Conversely, board finds its way into phrases like "go by the board," which means to be discarded or ignored, reflecting its diverse applications beyond its physical description.
In linguistic terms, broad has variations like broader and broadest, used to describe comparative and superlative states, respectively. In contrast, board remains unchanged in form, but can be pluralized to boards, indicating more than one piece or panel.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Wide in extent or scope.
Flat, rectangular piece of material.
Usage in Phrases
"broad daylight"
"go by the board"
Physical Context
Refers to expansiveness.
Used as a surface or panel.
Organizational Role
Used metaphorically.
Refers to groups like a board of directors.
Comparative Forms
Broader, broadest
Boards (plural)
Compare with Definitions
Broad
General without detail.
He gave a broad overview of the company's direction.
Board
Stiff, flat material.
The sign was made of a large wooden board.
Broad
Wide in measurement.
The river is unusually broad here.
Board
To get on a vehicle.
We will board the plane shortly.
Broad
Inclusively varied.
The broad spectrum of opinions made the debate interesting.
Board
Daily meals (historically).
Room and board include your lodging and food.
Broad
Encompassing a wide range.
Her interests are broad, from science to music.
Board
Group of directors.
The board meets every Thursday to discuss policies.
Broad
Clear and open.
The thief was caught in broad daylight.
Board
A surface for posting notices.
Check the board for today's assignments.
Broad
Wide in extent from side to side
A broad river.
Broad shoulders.
Board
A long flat slab of sawed lumber; a plank.
Broad
Large in expanse; spacious
A broad lawn.
Board
A long flat slab of another material, used as a structural member.
Broad
Having a certain width from side to side
A sidewalk three feet broad.
Board
A flat, rigid, often rectangular piece of material used as a surface upon which to work
A cutting board.
An ironing board.
Broad
Full; open
Broad daylight.
Board
A blackboard.
Broad
Covering a wide scope; general
A broad rule.
Board
A bulletin board.
Broad
Liberal; tolerant
Had broad views regarding social services.
Board
A scoreboard.
Broad
Relating to or covering the main facts or the essential points
A plan presented in broad outline.
Board
A toteboard.
Broad
Plain and clear; obvious
Gave us a broad hint to leave.
Board
A flat piece of material designed or equipped to be ridden as a sport, especially a snowboard, skateboard, or surfboard.
Broad
Vulgar; ribald
A broad joke.
Board
A diving board.
Broad
Strikingly regional or dialectal
A broad Southern accent.
Board
A backboard.
Broad
(Linguistics) Pronounced with the tongue placed low and flat and with the oral cavity wide open, like the a in father.
Board
A flat, rigid piece of material on which a game is played, such as a checkerboard or chessboard.
Broad
A wide flat part, as of one's hand.
Board
A table at which official meetings are held; a council table.
Broad
Offensive Slang A woman or girl.
Board
An organized body of administrators or investigators
A board of trustees.
A board of directors.
Broad
Fully; completely.
Board
A table, especially one set for serving food.
Broad
Wide in extent or scope.
Three feet broad
The broad expanse of ocean
Board
Food or meals considered as a whole
Board and lodging.
Broad
Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
Board
(Sports) The wooden structure enclosing an area for skating, such as the ice on which hockey is played, or enclosing a playing area, as for indoor soccer.
Broad
Having a large measure of any thing or quality; unlimited; unrestrained.
Board
A theater stage.
Broad
Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
Board
(Basketball) A rebound.
Broad
Plain; evident.
A broad hint
Board
An electrical-equipment panel.
Broad
General rather than specific.
To be in broad agreement
Board
(Computers) A circuit board.
Broad
(writing) Unsubtle; obvious.
Board
The side of a ship.
Broad
Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
Board
A leeboard.
Broad
(dated) Gross; coarse; indelicate.
A broad compliment; a broad joke; broad humour
Board
A centerboard.
Broad
(of an accent) Strongly regional.
She still has a broad Scottish accent, despite moving to California 20 years ago.
Board
(Obsolete) A border or edge.
Broad
(Gaelic languages) Velarized, i.e. not palatalized.
Board
To cover or close with boards
Board up a broken window.
Broad
(UK) A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
Board
To furnish with meals in return for pay.
Broad
A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
Board
To house where board is furnished
Board a horse at a stable.
Broad
A British gold coin worth 20 shillings, issued by the Commonwealth of England in 1656.
Board
To enter or go aboard (a vehicle or ship).
Broad
A kind of floodlight.
Board
To allow (passengers) on board.
Broad
A playing card.
Board
(Nautical) To come alongside (a ship).
Broad
(dated) A prostitute, a woman of loose morals.
Board
(Sports) To force (an opposing hockey player) into the boards with a body check.
Broad
A woman or girl.
Board
(Obsolete) To approach.
Broad
Wide; extend in breadth, or from side to side; - opposed to narrow; as, a broad street, a broad table; an inch broad.
Board
To receive meals or food and lodging as a paying customer.
Broad
Extending far and wide; extensive; vast; as, the broad expanse of ocean.
Board
(Sports) To use a snowboard, skateboard, surfboard, or similar item.
Broad
Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
Board
A relatively long, wide and thin piece of any material, usually wood or similar, often for use in construction or furniture-making.
Broad
Fig.: Having a large measure of any thing or quality; not limited; not restrained; - applied to any subject, and retaining the literal idea more or less clearly, the precise meaning depending largely on the substantive.
A broad mixture of falsehood.
Board
A device (e.g., switchboard) containing electrical switches and other controls and designed to control lights, sound, telephone connections, etc.
Broad
Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
The words in the Constitution are broad enough to include the case.
In a broad, statesmanlike, and masterly way.
Board
A flat surface with markings for playing a board game.
Each player starts the game with four counters on the board.
Broad
Plain; evident; as, a broad hint.
Board
Short for blackboard, whiteboard, chessboard, surfboard, circuit board, message board (on the Internet), etc.
Broad
Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
As broad and general as the casing air.
Board
A committee that manages the business of an organization, e.g., a board of directors.
We have to wait to hear back from the board.
Broad
Characterized by breadth. See Breadth.
Board
(uncountable) Regular meals or the amount paid for them in a place of lodging.
Room and board
Broad
Cross; coarse; indelicate; as, a broad compliment; a broad joke; broad humor.
Board
(nautical) The side of a ship.
Broad
Strongly marked; as, a broad Scotch accent.
It is as broad as long, whether they rise to others, or bring others down to them.
Board
(nautical) The distance a sailing vessel runs between tacks when working to windward.
Broad
The broad part of anything; as, the broad of an oar.
Board
The wall that surrounds an ice hockey rink.
Broad
The spread of a river into a sheet of water; a flooded fen.
Board
(archaic) A long, narrow table, like that used in a medieval dining hall.
Broad
A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
Board
Paper made thick and stiff like a board, for book covers, etc.; pasteboard.
To bind a book in boards
Broad
Slang term for a woman;
A broad is a woman who can throw a mean punch
Board
(video games) A level or stage having a particular layout.
Broad
Having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other;
Wide roads
A wide necktie
Wide margins
Three feet wide
A river two miles broad
Broad shoulders
A broad river
Board
A container for holding pre-dealt cards that is used to allow multiple sets of players to play the same cards. Board (duplicate bridge)
Broad
Broad in scope or content;
Across-the-board pay increases
An all-embracing definition
Blanket sanctions against human-rights violators
An invention with broad applications
A panoptic study of Soviet nationality
Granted him wide powers
Board
A rebound.
Broad
Not detailed or specific;
A broad rule
The broad outlines of the plan
Felt an unspecific dread
Board
(transitive) To step or climb onto or otherwise enter a ship, aircraft, train or other conveyance.
It is time to board the aircraft.
Broad
Lacking subtlety; obvious;
Gave us a broad hint that it was time to leave
Board
(transitive) To provide someone with meals and lodging, usually in exchange for money.
To board one's horse at a livery stable
Broad
Being at a peak or culminating point;
Broad day
Full summer
High noon
Board
(transitive) To receive meals and lodging in exchange for money.
Broad
Very large in expanse or scope;
A broad lawn
The wide plains
A spacious view
Spacious skies
Board
To capture an enemy ship by going alongside and grappling her, then invading her with a boarding party
Broad
(of speech) heavily and noticeably regional;
A broad southern accent
Board
(intransitive) To obtain meals, or meals and lodgings, statedly for compensation
Broad
Showing or characterized by broad-mindedness;
A broad political stance
Generous and broad sympathies
A liberal newspaper
Tolerant of his opponent's opinions
Board
To approach (someone); to make advances to, accost.
Board
To cover with boards or boarding.
To board a house
Board
To hit (someone) with a wooden board.
Board
(transitive) To write something on a board, especially a blackboard or whiteboard.
Board
A piece of timber sawed thin, and of considerable length and breadth as compared with the thickness, - used for building, etc.
Board
A table to put food upon.
Fruit of all kinds . . . She gathers, tribute large, and on the boardHeaps with unsparing hand.
Board
Hence: What is served on a table as food; stated meals; provision; entertainment; - usually as furnished for pay; as, to work for one's board; the price of board.
Board
A table at which a council or court is held.
Both better acquainted with affairs than any other who sat then at that board.
We may judge from their letters to the board.
Board
A square or oblong piece of thin wood or other material used for some special purpose, as, a molding board; a board or surface painted or arranged for a game; as, a chessboard; a backgammon board.
Board
Paper made thick and stiff like a board, for book covers, etc.; pasteboard; as, to bind a book in boards.
Board
The stage in a theater; as, to go upon the boards, to enter upon the theatrical profession.
Board
The border or side of anything.
Board
To cover with boards or boarding; as, to board a house.
Board
To go on board of, or enter, as a ship, whether in a hostile or a friendly way.
You board an enemy to capture her, and a stranger to receive news or make a communication.
Board
To enter, as a railway car.
Board
To furnish with regular meals, or with meals and lodgings, for compensation; to supply with daily meals.
Board
To place at board, for compensation; as, to board one's horse at a livery stable.
Board
To obtain meals, or meals and lodgings, statedly for compensation; as, he boards at the hotel.
We are several of us, gentlemen and ladies, who board in the same house.
Board
To approach; to accost; to address; hence, to woo.
I will board her, though she chide as loudAs thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.
Board
A committee having supervisory powers;
The board has seven members
Board
A flat piece of material designed for a special purpose;
He nailed boards across the windows
Board
A stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
Board
A board on which information can be displayed to public view
Board
A flat portable surface (usually rectangular) designed for board games;
He got out the board and set up the pieces
Board
Food or meals in general;
She sets a fine table
Room and board
Board
Electrical device consisting of an insulated panel containing switches and dials and meters for controlling other electrical devices;
He checked the instrument panel
Suddenly the board lit up like a Christmas tree
Board
A printed circuit that can be inserted into expansion slots in a computer to increase the computer's capabilities
Board
A table at which meals are served;
He helped her clear the dining table
A feast was spread upon the board
Board
Get on board of (trains, buses, ships, aircraft, etc.)
Board
Live and take one's meals at or in;
She rooms in an old boarding house
Board
Lodge and take meals (at)
Board
Provide food and lodging (for);
The old lady is boarding three men
Common Curiosities
What is the primary physical characteristic of 'broad'?
Broad refers to something wide in scope or size.
What materials are typically used to make a board?
Boards are usually made of wood, plastic, or other stiff materials.
How is 'board' commonly used in organizations?
Board typically refers to a committee or group of people governing an organization.
What does the expression 'go by the board' imply?
It suggests that something is discarded or neglected.
How does 'broad' modify the meaning of phrases like 'broad daylight'?
It emphasizes total clarity and openness.
Is there a grammatical difference between 'broader' and 'boards'?
'Broader' is a comparative adjective of 'broad,' while 'boards' is the plural of 'board.'
What does 'broad' imply about the scope of something?
It implies a wide or comprehensive scope.
Can 'broad' be used in a non-physical sense?
Yes, broad can describe general ideas or categories that are wide-ranging.
In what contexts might 'board' refer to meals?
Historically, 'board' referred to the provision of meals, as in 'room and board.'
How might one use 'broad' in discussing topics or categories?
Broad is used to signify encompassing a large, varied range of items or ideas.
What is the typical use of a board in everyday settings?
Boards are commonly used as writing surfaces or in construction.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
