noticeboard

IPA/ˈnəʊtɪsbɔːd/
IPA/ˈnəʊtɪsbɔːrd/

noticeboard — noun

  • noticeboardsingular
  • noticeboardsplural

1. a flat board, usually fixed to a wall in a school, office, or public place, wher

1.nounB1
Definition

a flat board, usually fixed to a wall in a school, office, or public place, where people put up paper messages so that anyone passing can read them

Example

Mayumi pinned the choir audition flyer to the noticeboard outside the music room.

collocation: pin [item] to the noticeboard

The hostel noticeboard was covered with handwritten ads for cheap bicycles and weekend hiking trips.

typical context: hostel / public noticeboard covered in ads

Common collocations
  • school noticeboard
  • office noticeboard
  • staff noticeboard
  • church noticeboard
  • village noticeboard
  • pin/post/put up something on the noticeboard
Synonyms
  • bulletin board

    standard American equivalent for the same physical object

  • pinboard

    British; emphasises the cork or fabric surface that holds pins, often smaller and used at home or in personal offices

  • message board

    either a physical board or, more commonly today, an online forum where people post messages

Grammar Patterns

pin/post/put up [item] on the noticeboard

Usage Note

Mainly British and Australian English; American English usually says 'bulletin board' for the same object. Subject of related verbs (pin, post, put up, tack) is usually a person; object is usually a paper notice, flyer, or poster.

Common Mistakes

I read it on the notice board email.
I read it in the notice email.
a noticeboard is a physical wall board, not an email or a website section.
She posted the photo to the noticeboard online.
She posted the photo to the online message board.
in standard British English, 'noticeboard' refers to the physical object; the online equivalent is 'message board' or 'forum'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a flat surface for posting messages, but they split by region, scale, and medium. 'Noticeboard' is the standard British and Australian term for a wall-mounted board in a school, office, church, or public place, used for paper notices that the public can read. 'Bulletin board' is the American word for the same physical object — a school in London has a noticeboard; a school in Boston has a bulletin board. 'Pinboard' is British too, but usually smaller and more personal — the cork board above your desk at home, used for reminders and photos rather than public announcements. 'Message board' is more general and today often online: an internet forum is a message board, not a noticeboard. So if you mean the wooden frame on the corridor wall at a British school, say noticeboard; if you mean a website where strangers post replies, say message board.

noticeboard ↗bulletin boardpinboardmessage board

Common collocations

Nouns

  • school noticeboard
  • office noticeboard
  • staff noticeboard
  • church noticeboard
  • village noticeboard
  • community noticeboard

Phrases

  • pin something to the noticeboard
  • post a notice on the noticeboard
  • put something up on the noticeboard
  • check the noticeboard

Prepositions

  • on the noticeboard
  • to the noticeboard
  • from the noticeboard

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

A straightforward British compound formed in the late nineteenth century by joining 'notice' (a written announcement, from Latin 'notitia' meaning knowledge or awareness, via Old French) with 'board' (a flat piece of wood, from Old English 'bord'). Sometimes still written as two words, 'notice board', especially in older texts. The American synonym 'bulletin board' arose around the same period using 'bulletin' (an official short report) instead of 'notice'.