boom box

American  

noun

Informal.

• boom boxes
  plural

1. a large, powerful portable radio and often cassette or CD player.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• boom boxes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of boom box

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

boom box

He’s going to come to set with a boom box and blast, like, Phil Collins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

Swift said that podcast clip, which went viral, felt almost like "he was standing outside of my apartment, holding a boom box saying, 'I want to go on a date with you'".

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025

A Dead Kennedys song plays on a radio boom box, as a bell rings a brief warning each time a cylinder turns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2024

Watching him come out on a bare stage with a boom box and say, "I've got a tape I want to play," or ask, "Does anybody have any questions?" is charming.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2023

She’d noticed the hours I spent in my room with Tyler’s old boom box, listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so she began looking for a voice teacher.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover