penalty box
Americannoun
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Ice Hockey. an enclosed space adjacent to the rink for penalized players, the penalty timekeeper, the game timekeeper, and the official scorer.
Prior to 1963, there was only one penalty box in each of the six NHL arenas.
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a temporary punishment: When we send our son to the penalty box, he knows to go straight to his room.
I can’t go because I’ve been sent to the penalty box for missing another curfew.
When we send our son to the penalty box, he knows to go straight to his room.
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a chastisement or humiliation.
If you dare voice an opposing opinion at these meetings, you end up in the penalty box.
noun
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soccer another name for penalty area
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ice hockey a bench for players serving time penalties
Etymology
Origin of penalty box
First recorded in 1910–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Other factors include multipliers for even-strength goals, as opposed to those scored when the team has a power-play advantage while a player on the other team sits in the penalty box.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
NextEra’s shares could be stuck in the penalty box for a while longer, with regulatory approvals—across Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina—expected to take 12 to 18 months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
This seemed like an incident that has been a long time coming given the regular push-and-pull that now takes place involving so many players inside the penalty box.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
The stock has been relegated to the AI penalty box following last quarter’s underwhelming Azure cloud growth and lackluster Copilot adoption.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 26, 2026
The Lightning would have their chance to tie in the final moments, when Hamdu Muganga, now on defense for the Fugees, was called for a foul at the top of the penalty box.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
