What is "cement board"

n. 1 (context uncountable English) A building material made of cement and glass fibers formed into sheets, used as tile backing board. 2 A sheet of the building material.

A cement board is a combination of cement and reinforcing fibers formed into 4 foot by 8 foot sheets (or 3 foot by 5 foot sheets), 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick that are typically used as a tile backing board. Cement board can be nailed or screwed to wood or steel studs to create a substrate for vertical tile and attached horizontally to plywood for tile floors, kitchen counters and backsplashes. It can be used on the exterior of buildings as a base for exterior plaster ( stucco) systems and sometimes as the finish system itself.

Cement board adds impact resistance and strength to the wall surface as compared to water resistant gypsum boards. Cement board is also fabricated in thin sheets with polymer modified cements to allow bending for curved surfaces.