box

¹

[ boks ]

noun

1. a container, case, or receptacle, usually rectangular, of wood, metal, cardboard, etc., and often with a lid or removable cover.
2. the quantity contained in a box:

   She bought a box of candy as a gift.

3. Chiefly British. a gift or present:

   a Christmas box.

4. post office box.
5. a compartment or section in a public place, shut or railed off for the accommodation of a small number of people, especially in a theater, opera house, sports stadium, etc.
6. a small enclosure or area in a courtroom, for witnesses or the jury.
7. a small shelter:

   a sentry's box.

8. British.
   1. a small house, cabin, or cottage, as for use while hunting:

      a shooting box.

   2. a telephone booth.
   3. a wardrobe trunk.
9. box stall.
10. the driver's seat on a coach.
11. the section of a wagon in which passengers or parcels are carried.
12. Automotive. the section of a truck in which cargo is carried.
13. the box, Informal. television:

    Are there any good shows on the box tonight?

14. part of a page of a newspaper or periodical set off in some manner, as by lines, a border, or white space.
15. any enclosing, protective case or housing, sometimes including its contents:

    a gear box; a fire-alarm box.

16. Baseball.
    1. either of two marked spaces, one on each side of the plate, in which the batter stands.
    2. either of two marked spaces, one outside of first base and the other outside of third, where the coaches stand.
    3. the pitcher's mound.
    4. the marked space where the catcher stands.
17. a difficult situation; predicament.
18. Agriculture. a bowl or pit cut in the side of a tree for collecting sap.
19. Jazz Slang.
    1. a stringed instrument, as a guitar.
    2. a piano.
20. Informal.
    1. a phonograph.
    2. a boom box.
    3. a computer.
21. Slang. a coffin.
22. Slang: Vulgar.
    1. the vulva or vagina.
    2. basket ( def 9 ).

verb (used with object)

1. to put into a box:

   She boxed the glassware before the movers came.

2. to enclose or confine as in a box (often followed by in or up ).
3. to furnish with a box.
4. to form into a box or the shape of a box.
5. to block so as to keep from passing or achieving better position (often followed by in ):

   The Ferrari was boxed in by two other cars on the tenth lap.

6. to group together for consideration as one unit:

   to box bills in the legislature.

7. Building Trades. to enclose or conceal (a building or structure) as with boarding.
8. Agriculture. to make a hole or cut in (a tree) for sap to collect.
9. to mix (paint, varnish, or the like) by pouring from one container to another and back again.
10. Australian.
    1. to mix groups of sheep that should be kept separated.
    2. to confuse someone or something.

verb phrase

1. 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.

box

²

[ boks ]

verb (used with object)

1. to fight against (someone) in a boxing match.
2. to strike with the hand or fist, especially on the ear.

verb (used without object)

1. to fight with the fists; participate in a boxing match; spar.
2. to be a professional or experienced prizefighter or boxer:

   He has boxed since he was 16.

noun

1. a blow, as with the hand or fist:

   He gave the boy a box on his ear.

box

³

[ boks ]

noun

1. 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.
2. the wood itself.
3. any of various other shrubs or trees, especially species of eucalyptus.

box

⁴

[ boks ]

verb (used with object)

1. Nautical. to boxhaul (often followed by off ).
2. Meteorology. to fly around the center of a storm in a boxlike pattern in order to gather meteorological data:

   to box a storm.

box

¹

/ bɒks /

verb

1. tr to fight (an opponent) in a boxing match
2. intr to engage in boxing
3. tr to hit (a person) with the fist; punch or cuff
4. box clever
   box clever to behave in a careful and cunning way

noun

1. a punch with the fist, esp on the ear

box

²

/ bɒks /

noun

1. a receptacle or container made of wood, cardboard, etc, usually rectangular and having a removable or hinged lid
2. Also calledboxful the contents of such a receptacle or the amount it can contain

   he ate a whole box of chocolates

3. any of various containers for a specific purpose

   a money box

   letter box

4. often in combination any of various small cubicles, kiosks, or shelters

   a signal box on a railway

   a telephone box or callbox

   a sentry box

5. a separate compartment in a public place for a small group of people, as in a theatre or certain restaurants
6. See witness box, jury box
   an enclosure within a courtroom See jury box witness box
7. See horsebox, loosebox
   a compartment for a horse in a stable or a vehicle See loosebox horsebox
8. a small country house occupied by sportsmen when following a field sport, esp shooting
9. 1. a protective housing for machinery or mechanical parts
   2. the contents of such a box
   3. ( in combination )

      a gearbox

10. a shaped device of light tough material worn by sportsmen to protect the genitals, esp in cricket
11. a section of printed matter on a page, enclosed by lines, a border, or white space
12. a central agency to which mail is addressed and from which it is collected or redistributed

    to reply to a box number in a newspaper advertisement

    a post-office box

13. the central part of a computer or the casing enclosing it
14. See penalty box
    short for penalty box
15. baseball either of the designated areas in which the batter may stand
16. the raised seat on which the driver sits in a horse-drawn coach
17. a wheeled container for transporting coal in a mine
18. an accidental mixing of herds or flocks
19. a hole cut into the base of a tree to collect the sap
20. See Christmas box
    short for Christmas box
21. a device for dividing water into two or more ditches in an irrigation system
22. See coffin
    an informal name for a coffin
23. taboo.
    the female genitals
24. be a box of birds
    be a box of birds to be very well indeed
25. the box informal.
    the box television
26. think outside the box
    think outside the boxthink out of the box to think in a different, innovative, or original manner, esp with regard to business practices, products, systems, etc
27. tick all the boxes
    tick all the boxes to satisfy all of the apparent requirements for success
28. out of the box informal.
    out of the box outstanding or excellent

    a day out of the box

verb

1. tr to put into a box
2. tr; usually foll by in or up to prevent from moving freely; confine
3. trfoll byin printing to enclose (text) within a ruled frame
4. tr to make a cut in the base of (a tree) in order to collect the sap
5. tr to mix (flocks or herds) accidentally
6. trsometimes foll byup to confuse

   I am all boxed up

7. See boxhaul
   nautical short for boxhaul
8. box the compass
   box the compass nautical to name the compass points in order

box

³

/ bɒks /

noun

1. 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
2. See boxwood
   the wood of this tree See boxwood
3. any of several trees the timber or foliage of which resembles this tree, esp various species of Eucalyptus with rough bark

Derived Forms

• ˈboxˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• boxlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of box¹

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

Origin of box²

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

Origin of box³

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

Origin of box⁴

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 ( revolve ); influenced by box ¹ (verb)

Word History and Origins

Origin of box¹

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

Origin of box²

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

Origin of box³

Old English, from Latin buxus

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. box the compass, Nautical. to recite all of the points of the compass in a clockwise order.
2. out of the box, Australian Slang. remarkable or exceptional; extraordinary.
3. outside the box, Informal. in an innovative or unconventional manner; with a fresh perspective: Also out of the box.

   You have to think outside the box and adapt those strategies to your business.

More idioms and phrases containing box

• in a bind (box)
• on one's soapbox
• pandora's box
• stuff the ballot box

Example Sentences

A very lightweight option at only one pound, the Pendaflex file box is by far the most easily transportable.

From Popular-Science

We don’t have to box ourselves in to our present limitations.

From Nautilus

It’s thinking outside the box and using the current technology that we already have.

From Fortune

It also includes a USB-C to USB-C charging cable in the box.

From Ars Technica

Variety reported that box office revenue in South Korea was down 30 to 40 percent in January 2020 compared to previous years.

From Vox

In response to the screen quota cut, South Korea established a “cinema tax” on the box office.

From The Daily Beast

He goes into some detail into what it took to persuade voters to pass marriage equality at the ballot box in four states in 2012.

From The Daily Beast

How to Train Your Dragon 2, the tenth highest grossing movie in 2014 America, made $22 million at the Korean box office.

From The Daily Beast

By 2012, the marriage equality movement had won in courts and legislatures—but not at the ballot box.

From The Daily Beast

That November, many of us were stunned as voters in four states supported marriage equality at the ballot box.

From The Daily Beast

Beside her was a box of bonbons, which she held out at intervals to Madame Ratignolle.

From Project Gutenberg

Now and then the boy who had bought Squinty, and who was taking him home, would look around at his pet in the slatted box.

From Project Gutenberg

The little pig in the box felt himself being lifted out of the wagon.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Newbolt was cutting splints for her new sun-bonnet out of a pasteboard box.

From Project Gutenberg

With a hammer the boy knocked off some of the slats of the small box in which Squinty had made his journey.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• pack
• wrap