washboard

\waʃ.bɔʁd\

/\waʃ.bɔʁd\/ noun

The verdict

“washboard” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sorte d'instrument de musique, constitué d'une plaque de métal avec des indentations pour servir de percussion.

Corpus desk

Index FR-washboard · washboard · French

washboard · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "W" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for washboard
PropertyValue
Headwordwashboard
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\waʃ.bɔʁd\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « washboard » en français

washboardreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

washboard is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \waʃ.bɔʁd\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sorte d'instrument de musique, constitué d'une plaque de métal avec des indentations pour servir de percussion.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for washboard, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is washboard, spelled W-A-S-H-B-O-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sorte d'instrument de musique, constitué d'une plaque de métal avec des indentations pour servir de percussion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how washboard appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Le line up d'origine est constitué, entre autres, par le guitariste Anthony Stelmaszack et par Fabio Izquierdo qui apporte une touche d'authenticité supplémentaire en jouant de l'harmonica, du washboard et du mélodéon ([…]).

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "washboard"?
"washboard" is spelled W-A-S-H-B-O-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is \waʃ.bɔʁd\.
What does "washboard" mean?
As a noun, "washboard" means: Sorte d'instrument de musique, constitué d'une plaque de métal avec des indentations pour servir de percussion.
How do you pronounce "washboard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "washboard" is \waʃ.bɔʁd\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "washboard" come from?
"washboard" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list