penalty box

American  

[pen-l-tee boks] / ˈpɛn l ti ˌbɒks /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. a chastisement or humiliation.

   If you dare voice an opposing opinion at these meetings, you end up in the penalty box.

---

penalty box British  

noun

1. soccer another name for penalty area

2. ice hockey a bench for players serving time penalties

---

Etymology

Origin of penalty box

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

penalty box

Salah was in the penalty box, so the VAR is assessing a potential penalty - which has a higher threshold to a foul.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

Qualcomm has become one of the cheapest chip stocks, stuck in the penalty box for its dependence on smartphones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 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

But those please went ignored when Rossi scored with the Ducks’ Chris Kreider in the penalty box for slashing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

The players from both teams lined up outside the penalty box.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor