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box1

Pronunciation: /bɒks/

Translate box | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of box

noun

  • 1a container with a flat base and sides, typically square or rectangular and having a lid:a cigarette box a hat box
  • the contents of a box:she ate a whole box of chocolates that night
  • (the box) informal, chiefly British television or a television set:we sat around watching the box
  • informal a casing containing a computer:the new model is half the cost of an equivalent IBM box
  • informal a coffin:I always thought I’d be in a box when I finally left here
  • vulgar slang, chiefly North American a woman’s vagina.
  • 2an area or space enclosed within straight lines, in particular:
  • an area on a page that is to be filled in or that contains separate printed matter:tick the box on the coupon
  • an area on a computer screen for user input or displaying information: a new box appears containing the names of all the programs which are opened
  • British a box junction: do not enter the box until your exit is clear
  • (the box) Soccer the penalty area: he curled in a brilliant second from the edge of the box
  • (the box) Baseball the area occupied by the batter: ten thousand people booed him when he stepped into the box
  • 3a separate section or enclosed area reserved for a group of people in a theatre or sports ground, or for witnesses or the jury in a law court:the royal box
  • historical a coachman’s seat.
  • British a small country house for use when shooting or fishing.
  • 4a protective casing for a piece of a mechanism: in the second variation, a switch loop, only one cable enters the box
  • informalshort for gearbox.
  • British a light shield for protecting a man’s genitals in sport, especially in cricket.
  • 5a facility at a newspaper office for receiving replies to an advertisement:write to me care of Box 112
  • a facility at a post office whereby letters are kept until called for by the addressee.

verb

[with object]
  • 1 (often as adjective boxed) put in or provide with a box:the books are sold as a boxed set Muriel boxed up all Christopher’s clothes
  • enclose (a piece of text) within printed lines:boxed sections in magazines
  • (box someone in) restrict the ability of (a person or vehicle) to move freely:a van had double-parked alongside her car and totally boxed her in
  • 2 (box sheep up) Australian/NZ mix up different flocks.

Phrases

be a box of birds

NZ informal be fine or happy.

box of tricks

informal an ingenious gadget:all those magical effects were produced by this little box of tricks here

out of one's box

British informal intoxicated with alcohol or drugs: I was out of my box on sulphate

(right) out of the box

informal
  • 1used to refer to the immediate usability or functionality of a newly purchased product, typically an electronic device or a piece of software:most laptops come with wireless capability out of the box console games need to be good to go right out of the box the product is designed as an out-of-the-box portal for the medium to large enterprise
  • US from the very beginning; immediately:his family memoir was a ratings smash right out of the box
  • 2Australian/NZ unusually good:the novel is nothing out of the box
    [by association with the phrase look fresh out of a bandbox 'look very smart' (see bandbox)]

think outside (or out of) the box

informal think in an original or creative way.

Derivatives

boxful

noun (plural boxfuls)

box-like

adjective

Origin:

late Old English, probably from late Latin buxis, from Latin pyxis 'boxwood box', from Greek puxos (see box3)

box in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of box in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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