Category: Work & BusinessPart of speech: nounDifficulty: Intermediate

onboarding

/onboarding/Roman
/ˈɒnˌbɔːr.dɪŋ/IPA

English meaning: Onboarding

Definition

The process of integrating a new employee or user into an organization or system.

Example

“Their onboarding process includes a week of training and a dedicated mentor for each hire.”

Another example: “A clear onboarding process helps new hires feel confident in their first week.”

Usage — When, Where & How

A noun (and gerund) from business and HR for the process of integrating a new employee, customer or user into a system; common in workplaces and software ('the onboarding process', 'customer onboarding'). Opposite 'offboarding'.

Etymology & Origin

English — Origin & History

From the phrase 'on board', extended with '-ing' in human-resources usage from the 1970s onward.

Synonyms

Antonyms / Opposites

  • offboarding

Related Words

Common Collocations

  • onboarding process
  • employee onboarding
  • customer onboarding
  • smooth onboarding
  • onboarding experience

Word Forms

onboarding (n); onboard (v); onboarded

Word Tools

3 syllables

Literary Heritage

“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

/To thine own self be true/

“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”

William Shakespeare · Playwright & Poet · 1564–1616

Hamlet, Act II

Hamlet, II.i — Polonius's parting words to Laertes; the most quoted line in Shakespeare

“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”

/I'm nobody! Who are you?/

“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”

Emily Dickinson · Poet · 1830–1886

Poems

Poem 288 — Dickinson's subversive celebration of solitude over social recognition

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Language
English
English
Script
Latin
Family
Indo-European
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