Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
boarding card

boarding card

1 2.1
A card passengers show before they get on a plane or ship
  • noun
  • /ˈbɔrdɪŋ kɑrd/
  • UK
translation icon : tarjeta de embarque
  • Please have your boarding card and passport ready.

Examples

  • Make sure to print your boarding card before arriving at the airport.

  • "She wasn't able to print her boarding card because, as you know, there are no Internet cafes in Alicante, no hotels where they could print them out for you, and you couldn't get to a fax machine so some friend at home can print them and fax them to you."

    Blog text (7)

  • Please have your boarding card and passport ready.

    No Such Thing (2002)

  • I was so afraid I'd miss the flight that I sent the kid here to pick up my boarding card.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Boarding card, please.

    Colonia (2015)

  • Angus bustled and jostled with his boarding card aloft as the hostess said.

    Blog text (6)

  • Please have your boarding card ready before you go through security.

  • The airline staff requested to see my boarding card at the gate.

Synonyms

ticket
vsboarding card
∞ 1.0

A printed or electronic pass for entering events and travel

is the specific document passengers must show before getting on planes or ships
boarding pass
vsboarding card
20 2.4

A paper or digital ticket that lets a passenger get on a plane

applies only to planes and ships, not broader transport types

Surface Forms

boarding card singular
boarding cards plural

Morphology

boarding + card

The meaning is directly and transparently compositional: 'boarding' (the act/procedure of embarking) + 'card' (a small document) => a card used for boarding. This follows regular English noun‑noun compounding and has close equivalents in many languages (e.g. Spanish 'tarjeta de embarque', French 'carte d'embarquement'), so a B1 learner knowing the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Boarding card comes from the simple idea of a small card that shows you may 'board' a plane or ship. Staff check the boarding card at the gate as proof you can get on the plane, so it now means the pass you must show to board.