"above-board" meaning in English

See above-board in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /əˈbʌvˌbɔɹd/ [US] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-above-board.wav Forms: aboveboard [alternative], above board [alternative]
Etymology: From above + board (“table”). First attested in 1610. Said by Johnson to have been borrowed from gamblers, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|above|board|t2=table}} above + board (“table”) Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} above-board (not comparable)
  1. In open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception. Tags: not-comparable Translations (straightforward, transparent): op eerlijke wijze (Dutch), openlijk (Dutch), rehellinen (Finnish), avoin (Finnish), salailematon (Finnish), läpinäkyvä (Finnish), einwandfrei (German), ehrlich (German), offen (German), korrekt (German), (die Karten liegen) auf dem Tisch [idiomatic] (German), matanui (Maori), legítimo (Spanish), чесний (česnyj) [masculine] (Ukrainian), відвертий (vidvertyj) [masculine] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-above-board-en-adj-tVbbeENc Categories (other): English terms with collocations

Adverb

IPA: /əˈbʌvˌbɔɹd/ [US] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-above-board.wav Forms: aboveboard [alternative], above board [alternative]
Etymology: From above + board (“table”). First attested in 1610. Said by Johnson to have been borrowed from gamblers, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|above|board|t2=table}} above + board (“table”) Head templates: {{en-adv|-}} above-board (not comparable)
  1. Honestly; openly. Tags: not-comparable Synonyms: straightforward, transparent
    Sense id: en-above-board-en-adv-~TVJAXCd Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Maori translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Ukrainian translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 30 70 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 10 90 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 11 89 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 7 93 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 7 93 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 10 90 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 12 88 Disambiguation of Terms with Maori translations: 10 90 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 5 95 Disambiguation of Terms with Ukrainian translations: 10 90

Alternative forms

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        "3": "board",
        "t2": "table"
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      "name": "compound"
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  "etymology_text": "From above + board (“table”). First attested in 1610. Said by Johnson to have been borrowed from gamblers, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table.",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "aboveboard",
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          "text": "fair and aboveboard",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 May 15, Stephen Lemons, “Joe Arpaio's Fave Pay-triot John Philip Sousa IV Fires Back, Makes Bank Off Peddling Joe”, in Phoenix New Times, archived from the original on 2019-03-11:",
          "text": "Nothing illegal about any of this to my knowledge. Indeed, this is the very above-board racket of running an independent political committee. Everyone does it. Left, right, center and none of the above. And anyway, why shouldn't a true pay-triot get paid?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 March 26, Maya Kosoff, “Zuckerberg hits users with the hard truth: You agreed to this”, in Vanity Fair:",
          "text": "Over the weekend, Android owners were displeased to discover that Facebook had been scraping their text-message and phone-call metadata, in some cases for years, an operation hidden in the fine print of a user agreement clause until Ars Technica reported. Facebook was quick to defend the practice as entirely aboveboard—small comfort to those who are beginning to realize that, because Facebook is a free service, they and their data are by necessity the products.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception."
      ],
      "id": "en-above-board-en-adj-tVbbeENc",
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          "concealment",
          "concealment"
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        [
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          "deception"
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          "The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles",
          "w:Shorter Oxford English Dictionary"
        ],
        [
          "Oxford University Press",
          "w:Oxford University Press"
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      "tags": [
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      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "op eerlijke wijze"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "openlijk"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "rehellinen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "avoin"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "salailematon"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "läpinäkyvä"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "einwandfrei"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "ehrlich"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "offen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "korrekt"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "tags": [
            "idiomatic"
          ],
          "word": "(die Karten liegen) auf dem Tisch"
        },
        {
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "matanui"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "word": "legítimo"
        },
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          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "česnyj",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
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            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "чесний"
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          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "vidvertyj",
          "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
          "tags": [
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          ],
          "word": "відвертий"
        }
      ]
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      "ipa": "/əˈbʌvˌbɔɹd/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
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  "forms": [
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      "tags": [
        "alternative"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
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          "_dis": "10 90",
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          "_dis": "10 90",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "5 95",
          "kind": "other",
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          "_dis": "10 90",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
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      "glosses": [
        "Honestly; openly."
      ],
      "id": "en-above-board-en-adv-~TVJAXCd",
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          "word": "straightforward"
        },
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          "word": "transparent"
        }
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    }
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  "word": "above-board"
}
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    "English adverbs",
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    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Maori translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Ukrainian translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "2": "above",
        "3": "board",
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      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From above + board (“table”). First attested in 1610. Said by Johnson to have been borrowed from gamblers, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "aboveboard",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
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    },
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      "form": "above board",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
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        "English terms with quotations"
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        {
          "text": "fair and aboveboard",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 May 15, Stephen Lemons, “Joe Arpaio's Fave Pay-triot John Philip Sousa IV Fires Back, Makes Bank Off Peddling Joe”, in Phoenix New Times, archived from the original on 2019-03-11:",
          "text": "Nothing illegal about any of this to my knowledge. Indeed, this is the very above-board racket of running an independent political committee. Everyone does it. Left, right, center and none of the above. And anyway, why shouldn't a true pay-triot get paid?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 March 26, Maya Kosoff, “Zuckerberg hits users with the hard truth: You agreed to this”, in Vanity Fair:",
          "text": "Over the weekend, Android owners were displeased to discover that Facebook had been scraping their text-message and phone-call metadata, in some cases for years, an operation hidden in the fine print of a user agreement clause until Ars Technica reported. Facebook was quick to defend the practice as entirely aboveboard—small comfort to those who are beginning to realize that, because Facebook is a free service, they and their data are by necessity the products.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "concealment",
          "concealment"
        ],
        [
          "deception",
          "deception"
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          "The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles",
          "w:Shorter Oxford English Dictionary"
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        [
          "Oxford University Press",
          "w:Oxford University Press"
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      "tags": [
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "op eerlijke wijze"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "openlijk"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "rehellinen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "avoin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "salailematon"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "läpinäkyvä"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "einwandfrei"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "ehrlich"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "offen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "korrekt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "word": "(die Karten liegen) auf dem Tisch"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "matanui"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "word": "legítimo"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "česnyj",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "чесний"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "vidvertyj",
      "sense": "straightforward, transparent",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "відвертий"
    }
  ],
  "word": "above-board"
}

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    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
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    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Maori translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Ukrainian translations"
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        "2": "above",
        "3": "board",
        "t2": "table"
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      "expansion": "above + board (“table”)",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From above + board (“table”). First attested in 1610. Said by Johnson to have been borrowed from gamblers, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "aboveboard",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "above board",
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        "alternative"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Honestly; openly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈbʌvˌbɔɹd/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
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      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-above-board.wav",
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    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "straightforward"
    },
    {
      "word": "transparent"
    }
  ],
  "word": "above-board"
}

Download raw JSONL data for above-board meaning in English (6.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-21 using wiktextract (fef8596 and 633533e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.