call box

American  

noun

1. an outdoor telephone or signal box for calling the police or fire department.

2. British. a public telephone booth.

3. a post-office box for mail that can be picked up only by a renter in person.

---

call box British  

noun

1. Also called: telephone box.   telephone kiosk.  a soundproof enclosure for a public telephone

---

Etymology

Origin of call box

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

call box

The car went off the west roadway edge, hit a call box and continued south through vegetation before going over a cliff, officials said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

BT was consulting with Aberdeenshire Council on the future of the call box, as well as those located in Crovie and Portsoy.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2021

I was a fan of Duchamp but wasn’t familiar with that particular piece, so I remember standing in a call box while Richard described it to me over the phone.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 7, 2018

I pass them when I drive to work, and when I was at the AU gallery, I was delighted to see that one of his paintings had a call box.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 1, 2017

When the gigantic wave of molasses hit, Boston Police patrolman Frank McManus was at a call box getting ready to make a routine report.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler