A baseboard is the long, narrow strip fixed to the bottom of an indoor wall, right where the wall meets the floor. It is usually wood, plastic, or a hard board, and it belongs to the wall, not to the floor. Its first job is practical: it hides the rough gap at the bottom, and it takes the knocks from shoes, chairs, and the vacuum cleaner so the wall paint does not get ruined. It can also look a little fancy — some are thin and plain, some are thick and shaped. In American English people say baseboard; in British English the same thing is almost always a skirting board. You will meet both. It is not a board you write on, and it is not a floorboard.