beatbox

American  

[beet-boks] / ˈbitˌbɒks /

Or beat-box

noun

1. drum machine.

2. Slang. boom box.

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verb (used without object)

1. to simulate the sounds and rhythms of percussion instruments or a drum machine by using the mouth and voice.

   Have you ever heard someone beatbox like that?

beatbox British  

/ ˈbiːtˌbɒks /

noun

1. informal a drum machine

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Other Word Forms

• beatboxer noun

Etymology

Origin of beatbox

An Americanism dating back to 1975–80; beat + box ¹

Example Sentences

The words added in 2014 included geocache, chillax, beatbox, frenemy, hashtag, joypad, mojito, selfie, soju, texter, vodcast, vlog, and yuzu, among others.

From Salon • May 30, 2022

Biz Markie, a beatbox virtuoso, had a playfulness and an off-key, enthusiastic musicality that turned his 1989 song ‘Just a Friend’ into an enduring pop hit.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2021

Biz could do anything: beatbox, record-scratch with his mouth, sing out of tune with feeling and fervor, and show up the best emcees of his day, all through sheer energy and personality.

From Slate • Jul. 20, 2021

“No one else could beatbox, make beats and grooves and sounds the way he did,” Mike D wrote.

From Washington Post • Jul. 17, 2021

Some of them came down from Drew Hall, with their caps cocked and their backpacks slung through one arm, then fell into gorgeous ciphers of beatbox and rhyme.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates