springboard

UK: /ˈsprɪŋbɔː^rd/ US: /ˈsprɪŋˌbɔrd/ ,(spring′bôrd′, -bōrd′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

spring•board /ˈsprɪŋˌbɔrd/   n. [countable]

1. Sport a flexible board anchored at one end and used in diving and gymnastics for gaining height.
2. a starting point;
   point of departure, as for a discussion:
   We can use his statement as a springboard for our discussion.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

spring•board  (spring′bôrd′, -bōrd′), n. 

1. Sport a flexible board, projecting over water, from which divers leap or spring.
2. Sport a flexible board used as a takeoff in vaulting, tumbling, etc., to increase the height of leaps.
3. something that supplies the impetus or conditions for a beginning, change, or progress;
   a point of departure:
   a lecture to serve as a springboard for a series of seminars.

v.t., v.i. 

4. to impel or launch on or as if on a springboard.

• spring + board 1865–70

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

springboard / ˈsprɪŋˌbɔːd/ noun

1. a flexible board, usually projecting low over the water, used for diving
2. a similar board used for gaining height or momentum in gymnastics
3. a board inserted into the trunk of a tree at some height above the ground on which a lumberjack stands to chop down the tree
4. anything that serves as a point of departure or initiation