ACROSS-THE-BOARD Definition & Meaning

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across-the-board

[ uh-kraws-thuh-bawrd, -bohrd, uh-kros- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

applying to all employees, members, groups, or categories; general:
The across-the-board pay increase means a raise for all employees.
(of a bet) covering all possibilities of winning on a given result, especially by placing a combination bet on one horse in a race for win, place, and show.

across-the-board

adjective

(of salary increases, taxation cuts, etc) affecting all levels or classes equally
horse racing the US term for each way

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of across-the-board¹

First recorded in 1940–45

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Idioms and Phrases

Applying to all the individuals in a group, as in They promised us an across-the-board tax cut , that is, one applying to all taxpayers, regardless of income. This expression comes from horse racing, where it refers to a bet that covers all possible ways of winning money on a race: win (first), place (second), or show (third). The board here is the notice-board on which the races and betting odds are listed. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump backed a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports coming into the US, sometimes suggesting that could be 20% - even 60% on imports from China.

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Mara’s line by the game’s midpoint was representative of his across-the-board value to his team.

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The university has proposed a 5% across-the-board pay increase beginning July 1 and 3% wage increases in the second and third years of the contract.

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The university has proposed a 5% across-the-board pay increase beginning July 1 and a 3% wage increase the second and third years of the contract.

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President Donald Trump has ordered an across-the-board 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US in a major expansion of existing trade barriers.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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