Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

box1

Syllabification: (box)
Pronunciation: /bäks/

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 cereal box a hat box
  • the contents of a box:she ate a whole box of chocolates that night
  • informal a casing containing a computer.
  • (the box) informal, chiefly British television or a television set:light entertainment shows on the box
  • informal a coffin:I always thought I’d be in a box when I finally left here
  • historical a coachman’s seat.
  • vulgar slang a woman’s vagina.
  • 2an area or space enclosed within straight lines, in particular.
  • an area on a printed page that is to be filled in or that is set off by a border:a picture of Sandy was in the upper right-hand box
  • an area on a computer screen for user input or displaying information.
  • (the box) (also the batter's box) Baseball the rectangular area occupied by the batter.
  • Baseball the rectangular area behind home plate for the catcher ( catcher’s box), or those near first and third bases, in foul territory, for each base coach ( coach’s box).
  • (the box) Soccer the penalty area:he curled in a shot from the edge of the box
  • 3a small structure or building for a specific purpose, in particular.
  • a separate section or enclosed area within a larger building, especially one reserved for a group of people in a theater or sports ground or for witnesses or the jury in a law court:a box at the opera the jury was now in the box
  • British a small country house for use when hunting or fishing.
  • 4a protective casing for a piece of a mechanism.
  • informalshort for gearbox.
  • 5a mailbox at a post office, newspaper office, or other facility where a person may arrange to receive correspondence:write to me care of PO Box 112

verb

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

Phrases

back through the box

Baseball (of a batted ball) hit in the direction of the pitcher past second base.

in a box

restricted or limited:he will find himself in a box on US policy

in-a-box

(or in-the-box)
packaged simply, cheaply, and conveniently:the Butler-in-a-Box is the gadget of your dreams

(right) out of the box

informal
used 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
from the very beginning; immediately:his family memoir was a ratings smash right out of the box

think outside (of) the box

think in an original or creative way:you have to give him credit for thinking outside the box

Phrasal Verbs

box someone out

Basketball block an opponent from an area by the position of one’s body:Miller neglected to box out his man in the final seconds

Derivatives

boxful

Pronunciation: /-ˌfo͝ol/

noun

boxlike

Pronunciation: /-ˌlīk/

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 British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

Word of the day

kempt

/ kem(p)t /
adjective
maintained in a neat and clean condition …