room and board

noun

: lodging and food usually furnished for a set price or as part of wages

Examples of room and board in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Despite the in-state tuition freeze, universities could still increase room and board fees as well as tuition costs for out-of-state and international students. — Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026 That includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, transportation, and other expenses. — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026 Add room and board, and the real average cost rises to roughly $16,000 — with the average student receiving close to $10,000 in grant aid to get there. — Scott White, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026 Companies like Western Grazers also had to cover herders’ room and board, meals, limited clothing expenses and transportation to and from their home countries, along with visa costs. — Velvet Wu august 2, Sacbee.com, 2 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for room and board

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of room and board was in 1849

Rhymes for room and board

See All Rhymes for room and board

Browse Nearby Words

roomage
room and board
room-and-pillar
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Room and board.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/room%20and%20board. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All