washboarding

English

Verb

washboarding

1. present participle and gerund of washboard

Noun

washboarding (usually uncountable, plural washboardings)

1. The appearance of ripples or bumps on a dirt or gravel road, caused by wear from traffic, erosion, or poor grading.
   • 1988, Deborah J. Taylor, National Central Tire Inflation Program:

     According to the road crew, two forms of road surface damage are common to this haul route — washboarding and potholing.

   • 1990, Harold W. Muncy, Asphalt Emulsions - Issue 1079, →ISBN, page 67:

     As the surface aged with traffic, the washboarding decreased in severity.

   • 1997, Better Roads - Volume 67, page 33:

     Aggregate quality is important to prevent washboarding.

   • 2005, T.F. Fwa, The Handbook of Highway Engineering, →ISBN, pages 16–17:

     Corrugations (washboardings) are fairly regular evenly spaced transverse ridges and caused by traffic actions in conjunction with loose aggregate.

2. A streaky appearance on solid patches of color printed on corrugated materials, resulting from the uneven pressure exerted due to corrugations.
   • 1987, Paper Technology and Industry - Volumes 28-29, page 267:

     When postprinting, washboarding influences the printability. Washboarding depends mainly on the distance between the flute tips ...

   • 2005, Tappi Journal - Volume 4, page 7:

     The flute tips and the buckling or washboarding between the flutes tips can be seen easily.

   • 2008, Appita Journal:

     Washboarding is a result of a waviness of the liner structure that follows the flutes of the comigated medium.

3. (bees) An unexplained behavior in which bees move across the surface of their hive with a rocking motion.
   • 2010, Malcolm T. Sanford, Richard E. Bonney, Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, →ISBN, page 64:

     The behavior shown here is washboarding.

   • 2013, Barry Werth, The Billion-Dollar Molecule: The Quest for the Perfect Drug, →ISBN, page 322:

     He then ran the images back in slow motion. They resembled the “washboarding” of bees, a herringboning, a shimmy.

   • 2015, James E. Tew, The Beekeeper's Problem Solver, →ISBN, page 72:

     Certainly, interior surfaces and some exterior surfaces are coated with propolis, but washboarding behavior is not necessarily associated with propolis application.