Dictionary.com

box

1
[ boks ]
/ bɒks /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: box / boxed / boxes / boxing on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object)
Verb Phrases
box out, Basketball. to position oneself between an opposing player and the basket to hinder the opposing player from rebounding or tipping in a shot; block out.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Idioms about box

    out of the box, Australian Slang. remarkable or exceptional; extraordinary.
    outside the box, Informal. in an innovative or unconventional manner; with a fresh perspective: You have to think outside the box and adapt those strategies to your business.Also out of the box .

Origin of box

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English, probably from Late Latin buxis, a reshaping of Latin pyxis; see boîte, pyx

OTHER WORDS FROM box

boxlike, adjective

Other definitions for box (2 of 4)

box2
[ boks ]
/ bɒks /

verb (used with object)
to fight against (someone) in a boxing match.
to strike with the hand or fist, especially on the ear.
verb (used without object)
to fight with the fists; participate in a boxing match; spar.
to be a professional or experienced prizefighter or boxer: He has boxed since he was 16.
noun
a blow, as with the hand or fist: He gave the boy a box on his ear.

Origin of box

2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English box “a blow,” boxen “to beat,” of uncertain origin

Other definitions for box (3 of 4)

box3
[ boks ]
/ bɒks /

noun
an evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Buxus, especially B. sempervirens, having shiny, elliptic, dark-green leaves, used for ornamental borders, hedges, etc., and yielding a hard, durable wood.
the wood itself.
any of various other shrubs or trees, especially species of eucalyptus.
Compare boxwood.

Origin of box

3
First recorded before 950; Middle English, Old English, from Latin buxus “boxwood,” from Greek pýxos

Other definitions for box (4 of 4)

box4
[ boks ]
/ bɒks /

verb (used with object)
Nautical. to boxhaul (often followed by off).
Meteorology. to fly around the center of a storm in a boxlike pattern in order to gather meteorological data: to box a storm.

Origin of box

4
First recorded in 1745–55; probably from Spanish bojar “to sail around,” earlier boxar, perhaps from Catalan vogir “to (cause to) turn,” ultimately derived from Latin volvere (see revolve); influenced by box1 (verb)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use box in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for box (1 of 3)

box1
/ (bɒks) /

noun
verb

Derived forms of box

boxlike, adjective

Word Origin for box

Old English box, from Latin buxus from Greek puxos box ³

British Dictionary definitions for box (2 of 3)

box2
/ (bɒks) /

verb
(tr) to fight (an opponent) in a boxing match
(intr) to engage in boxing
(tr) to hit (a person) with the fist; punch or cuff
box clever to behave in a careful and cunning way
noun
a punch with the fist, esp on the ear

Word Origin for box

C14: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Dutch boken to shunt, push into position

British Dictionary definitions for box (3 of 3)

box3
/ (bɒks) /

noun
a dense slow-growing evergreen tree or shrub of the genus Buxus, esp B. sempervirens, which has small shiny leaves and is used for hedges, borders, and garden mazes: family Buxaceae
the wood of this treeSee boxwood (def. 1)
any of several trees the timber or foliage of which resembles this tree, esp various species of Eucalyptus with rough bark

Word Origin for box

Old English, from Latin buxus
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with box

box

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
FEEDBACK