cardboard
/ˈkɑɹdˌbɔɹd/noun, adjective
cardboard is spelled C-A-R-D-B-O-A-R-D: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cardboard means “A wood-based material resembling heavy paper, used in the manufacture of boxes, cartons and signs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cardboard is cardboards.
How many letters and syllables are in cardboard?
| Letters | 9: C-A-R-D-B-O-A-R-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cardboard?
Cardboard appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cardboard?
- UK /ˈkɑːdbɔːd/
- US /ˈkɑɹdˌbɔɹd/
- US /ˈkɑɹˌbɔɹd/
Cardboard has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cardboard.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cardboard
- cardboards plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cardboard mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A wood-based material resembling heavy paper, used in the manufacture of boxes, cartons and signs.
- 2
Something flat or insubstantial.
- 3
Synonym of African nutmeg (“Pycnanthus angolensis”).
adjective
- 1
Made of or resembling cardboard.
- 2
Flat or flavorless.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cardboard in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense material resembling heavy paper:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cardboard come from?
From card + board.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).