black box

American  

noun

1. any unit that forms part of an electronic circuit and that has its function, but not its components, specified.

2. any comparatively small, usually black, box containing a secret, mysterious, or complex mechanical or electronic device.

3. Aeronautics. an electronic device, such as a flight recorder, that can be removed from an aircraft as a single package.

4. Automotive. a device in an electronic ignition system that generates electrical pulses.

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black box British  

noun

1. a self-contained unit in an electronic or computer system whose circuitry need not be known to understand its function

2. an informal name for flight recorder

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black box Cultural  

1. A crash-resistant steel container that holds instruments that record performance data in airplanes. The data are used to analyze the causes of accidents.

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Etymology

Origin of black box

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Affectionately known as Kosmo, it's a towering black box that resembles a cross between a telephone exchange and the flight deck of an airliner.

From BBC

Instead, it stages work in unlikely spaces: Masonic lodges, American Legions, women’s centers, but never traditional black box theaters.

From Los Angeles Times

In this photograph, the contraption’s legs can be glimpsed jutting out from behind Lincoln’s knees; it had been placed on a black box to extend its reach.

From The Wall Street Journal

Most AI systems are “black boxes,” an entity whose internal workings — training data, algorithms, etc. — are both too complicated and too well-concealed for anyone outside the company leadership to understand.

From Salon

Lofty ideals like truth, justice and full transparency could also remain black boxes.

From The Wall Street Journal