waterboard
noun, verb
waterboard is spelled W-A-T-E-R-B-O-A-R-D: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, waterboard means “A board set up to windward in a boat, to keep out water” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of waterboard is waterboards.
How many letters and syllables are in waterboard?
| Letters | 10: W-A-T-E-R-B-O-A-R-D |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 113,022nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is waterboard?
Waterboard appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd 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).
Forms of waterboard
- waterboards plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- waterboarding participle, present
- waterboarded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does waterboard mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A board set up to windward in a boat, to keep out water.
- 2
A public commission charged with overseeing water quality in a particular area.
verb
- 1
To subject to waterboarding, to pour water over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive.
We waterboarded the suspect, but he refused to confess.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Waterboard in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to subject to waterboarding:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | torturar a lo submarino, hacer el submarino, hacer waterboarding (wáterbordin), waterbordear, submarinear |
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 waterboard come from?
From Middle English water boarde, waterbord, equivalent to water + board. Compare West Frisian wetterboard (“waterboard”), Dutch waterbord (“waterboard”), German Wassertafel (“waterboard”), Danish vandbræt (“waterboard”), Swedish vattenbräda (“waterboard”), Icelandic vatnsbretti (“waterboard”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).