pillbox

American  

[pil-boks] / ˈpɪlˌbɒks /

noun

1. a box, usually shallow and often round, for holding pills.

2. a small, low structure of reinforced concrete, enclosing machine guns, and employed as a minor fortress in warfare.

3. a small, round, brimless hat with straight sides and a flat top, worn especially by women.

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pillbox British  

/ ˈpɪlˌbɒks /

noun

1. a box for pills

2. a small enclosed fortified emplacement, usually made of reinforced concrete

3. a small round hat, now worn esp by women

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Etymology

Origin of pillbox

First recorded in 1720–30; pill ¹ + box ¹

Example Sentences

The women would often wear these extravagant, floral hats or don a more subtle pillbox style.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

He advised people not to attempt to go inside the pillbox "for safety reasons, especially not when the tide's coming in".

From BBC • Dec. 8, 2023

You see how Julie methodically, and with a hint of odd urgency, unpacks her luggage, and how Rosalind daintily removes a tablet from a pillbox.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2022

Bob Dylan once mockingly sang that a leopard-skin pillbox hat “balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 26, 2022

One man goes into the right-hand pillbox, to punch our numbers into the Compuchek.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

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