Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "across-the-board" [across-the-board]

  • Including or applying to all categories or members: an across-the-board pay hike; an across-the-board ruling. (adjective)
  • Of or being a racing wager whereby equal amounts are bet on the same contestant to win, place, and show. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "across-the-board" in a sentence
  • ""We find ourselves in disagreement with the specific approach he offers in his dissent - namely, an across-the-board license condition requiring implementation of 'all' Fukushima-related requirements prior to operation of the Vogtle plant," the four commissioners wrote."
  • ""Arbitrarily imposing an across-the-board hiring freeze in the name of saving relatively small sums would be a mistake with the potential to seriously hamper the workforce and degrade government's performance," Stier wrote in Sunday's Post in a piece entitled, "The workers Obama abandoned.""
  • "Rather than continuing to fight reform of work rules and protecting underperformers, unions could trade those away for across-the-board bonuses for service improvements and a guarantee that employees get a sizable share of any productivity gains."