box cutter

[ boks kuht-er ]

noun

1. a small cutting tool consisting of a retractable razor blade in a metal or plastic holder, designed for opening cardboard cartons.

box cutter

noun

1. a knife-like tool with a short retractable blade

Word History and Origins

Origin of box cutter¹

First recorded in 1825–30 in the sense of a person who cuts boxes; current sense dates from 1950–55

Example Sentences

Shortly before a mass extinction ended the Age of Dinosaurs, a reptilian, barracuda-like carnivore with a mouth like a box cutter patrolled the warm seas that once covered swaths of what is now North Africa.

From Science News

He forced me into the alley with the box cutter at my throat.

From The Daily Beast

My attacker had stabbed me with a box cutter and told me he would kill me if I did not do as he asked.

From The Daily Beast