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letterboxing

British  
/ ˈlɛtəˌbɒksɪŋ /

noun

  1. a method of formatting film that enables all of a wide-screen film to be transmitted on a television screen, resulting in a blank strip of screen above and below the picture

  2. a type of treasure hunt in which a box, known as a letterbox , is hidden in a remote rural location and clues are provided as to its whereabouts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If you are seeing a Nolan film in IMAX, you might notice how the image toggles between filling up the whole screen and letterboxing to fill just the middle.

From New York Times • Jul. 17, 2023

Some games and movies will display letterboxing since the 16-inch display has a tall 16:10 aspect ratio.

From The Verge • Aug. 18, 2022

Creator Genndy Tartakovsky plays with framing, using split-screen effects and letterboxing the image for “cinematic” effects that also suggest the way a graphic novelist carves up a page.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2022

The presentations at MoMA, which will use a single digital projector, will have “smilebox” letterboxing, approximating the illusion of depth that original moviegoers got from the extreme curvature of the screen.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2018

Trish Kurdziel, 44, of North Kingstown, R.I., goes letterboxing regularly with her husband and their three children, ages 6, 9 and 11.

From Time Magazine Archive

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