snowboarding

snowboarding — noun

1. a winter sport that involves standing sideways on a wide board and riding down s

1.nounA2
Definition

a winter sport that involves standing sideways on a wide board and riding down snow-covered slopes, often on a mountain or in a specially designed park

Example

Élise and her brother Zuri go snowboarding in the Alps every winter.

go + snowboarding (gerund for activity)

Apinya booked a snowboarding lesson at the indoor slope near her apartment.

Common collocations
  • go snowboarding
  • snowboarding trip
  • snowboarding equipment
  • snowboarding boots
  • snowboarding competition
  • snowboarding instructor
  • snowboarding lesson
  • try snowboarding
Synonyms
  • boarding

    informal shortening used mostly by enthusiasts ('Let's go boarding this weekend')

  • snowriding

    less common alternative term, sometimes used for freestyle snowboarding

Grammar Patterns

go + snowboarding

snowboarding + noun

while + snowboarding

Usage Note

Used as an uncountable noun. You say 'I love snowboarding' or 'Let's go snowboarding', not 'a snowboarding'. The equipment itself is called a snowboard (countable noun).

Common Mistakes

I bought a new snowboarding.
I bought a new snowboard.
snowboarding is the activity; the board is called a snowboard.
I went to snowboarding yesterday.
I went snowboarding yesterday.
no preposition 'to' before the gerund form of the activity.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Skiing and snowboarding are the two most popular snow-sliding sports, but they differ in equipment and technique. Skiing uses two separate skis attached to each foot, with a pole in each hand, while snowboarding uses a single wide board with both feet strapped to it, and no poles. Many winter resorts offer both activities. The informal term 'boarding' is used by enthusiasts as a casual shorthand for snowboarding ('Let's hit the slopes for some boarding'), but it may cause confusion with skateboarding or wakeboarding in other contexts. Skiing is generally easier for beginners to learn at a basic level, but snowboarding often requires more practice for the first few days before the rider gets the feel of balancing on the edge of the board.

skiing ↗snowboarding ↗boarding

Common collocations

Phrases

  • go snowboarding
  • try snowboarding
  • take up snowboarding

Etymology

Old EnglishModern English

Formed by combining the noun 'snow' (from Old English 'snāw') with 'boarding', which comes from 'board' (Old English 'bord' meaning a plank or flat surface) plus the '-ing' suffix that turns it into an activity noun. The sport emerged in the 1960s and 1970s in the United States, and the word 'snowboarding' entered common use around the 1980s as the activity gained popularity worldwide.