hoverboard

English

WOTD – 21 October 2015

An artist's impression of the hoverboard from the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II

A hoverboard scooter

Alternative forms

• hover board

Etymology

hover +‎ board, patterned off of skateboard. First mentioned in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: ʹhŏvərbôrd, IPA^(key): /ˈhɒvəbɔɹd/
• (US) enPR: ʹhŭvər'bôrd, IPA^(key): /ˈhʌvɚbɔɹd/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

hoverboard (plural hoverboards)

1. (chiefly science fiction) A levitating board that can be ridden in the manner of a surfboard or skateboard.
2. A small self-balancing two-wheeled motorised vehicle, related to a scooter.
   • 2022 December 14, “Network News: News in Brief: Northern e-scooter ban”, in RAIL, number 972, page 25:

     Northern introduced a ban on e-scooters, hoverboards and e-skateboards on all its stations and trains from December 1, because of a fire risk. Electric wheelchairs and bikes are exempt.

Translations

levitating board

• Bulgarian: ховърборд m (hovǎrbord)
• Esperanto: ŝvebilo
• Finnish: leijulauta (fi)
• Greek: χόβερμπορντ (chóvermpornt)
• Hungarian: légdeszka
• Icelandic: svifbretti n
• Italian: hoverboard m, volopattino m
• Japanese: ホバーボード (hobābōdo)
• Korean: 호버보드 (hobeobodeu), 호버 보드 (hobeo bodeu)
• Macedonian: лебдечка даска f (lebdečka daska), ховерборд (mk) m (hoverbord)
• Swedish: hoverboard (sv) c, svävarbräda (sv) c, balansskoter (sv) c

Verb

hoverboard (third-person singular simple present hoverboards, present participle hoverboarding, simple past and past participle hoverboarded)

1. (chiefly science fiction) To travel by hoverboard.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:hoverboard.

Translations

to travel by hoverboard

• Hungarian: légdeszkázik