box definition

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bɒks/
• (General American) enPR: bäks, IPA^(key): /bɑks/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒks

Etymology 1

From Middle English box (“container, box, cup”), from Old English box (“box-tree; box, case”),^[1] from Proto-West Germanic *buhs (“box tree; thing made from boxwood; box”), either from Latin buxus (“box tree; thing made from boxwood”), buxum (“box tree; boxwood”) (possibly from πύξος (púxos, “box tree; boxwood”)); or from Late Latin buxis (“box”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries”) (from Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”), from πύξος (púxos) + -ῐς (-is, “suffix forming feminine nouns”)).^[2] Doublet of pyx.

If the latter derivation is correct, the word is cognate with Middle Dutch bosse, busse (“jar; tin; round box”) (modern Dutch bos (“wood, forest”), bus (“container, box; bushing of a wheel”)), Old High German buhsa (Middle High German buhse, bühse, modern German Büchse (“box; can”)), Swedish hjulbössa (“wheel-box”).^[2]

The humorous plural form boxen is from box + -en, by analogy with oxen.

Noun

box (plural boxes or (nonstandard, computing, humorous) boxen)

1. Senses relating to a three-dimensional object or space.
   1. A cuboid space; a cuboid container, often with a hinged lid.

      Synonyms: case, package

      • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], OCLC 55746801, page 55:

        A terrible voice in the hall cried, "Bring down Master Scrooge's box, there!" and in the hall appeared the schoolmaster himself, who glared on Master Scrooge with a ferocious condescension, and threw him into a dreadful state of mind by shaking hands with him.

      • 1963, Margery Allingham, “The Elopers”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, OCLC 483591931, page 33:

        The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when modish taste was just due to go clean out of fashion for the best part of the next hundred years.

   2. A cuboid container and its contents; as much as fills such a container.

      Synonym: boxful

      a box of books

      • 1719 April 25​, [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, OCLC 838630407, page 325:

        He brought me also a Box of Sugar, a Box of Flour, a Bag full of Lemons, and two Bottles of Lime-juice, and abundance of other Things: […]

   3. A compartment (as a drawer) of an item of furniture used for storage, such as a cupboard, a shelf, etc.
   4. A compartment or receptacle for receiving items.

      post box  post office box

      • 2015 March, Cindy Gerard, chapter 10, in Running Blind, 1st Pocket Books paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 73:

        She'd picked up the high-tech phone from a post office box in Toronto a month ago. The key to that box had been mailed to a post office box in New York City. The Russians loved their cloak-and-dagger, particularly former KGB and Spetsnaz, Soviet special forces who ran the mafia, […]

      1. A numbered receptacle at a newspaper office for anonymous replies to advertisements; see also box number.
         • 1924 December 1, “The Broadcaster: A Department that will Find what You Want: A Central Clearing House for All Your Business Wants”, in C. A. Musselman, editor, Automobile Trade Journal, volume XXIX, number 6, Philadelphia, Pa.: Chilton Company, […], OCLC 58938924, page 618, column 2:

           Add five words for address if replies are to come to a box number address at any of our offices. These replies are forwarded each day as received, in new envelopes at no extra charge. […] When replying to blind ads be careful to put on your envelope the correct box number and do not enclose original letters of recommendation—send copies.

   5. A compartment to sit inside in an auditorium, courtroom, theatre, or other building.

      Synonym: loge

      • 1767, [Francesco] Algarotti, “On the Structure of Theatres”, in An Essay on the Opera Written in Italian, London: Printed for L. Davis and C. Reymers, OCLC 228750638, pages 101–102:

        There is yet a better manner of arranging the boxes; and for which invention we are indebted to Andrea Sighizzi, the ſcholar of [Francesco] Brizio and Dentone; […] The plan he followed was, that the boxes, according as they were to be removed from the ſtage towards the bottom of the theatre, ſhould continue gradually riſing by ſome inches one above the other, and gradually receding to the ſides by ſome inches; by which means, every box would have a more commodious view of the ſtage; […]

   6. The driver's seat on a horse-drawn coach.

      Synonym: box seat

      • 1868 April 18, “Among Russian Peasantry”, in Charles Dickens, editor, All the Year Round. A Weekly Journal. [...] With which is Incorporated Household Words, volume XIX, number 469, London: Published at No. 26, Wellington Street; and by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, […]], OCLC 781591950, page 440, column 1:

        Next in importance to the Dvornik comes the coachman of a Russian household. He is usually chosen for his fatness and the length of his beard. These seem curious reasons for choosing a coachman in a country where coach-boxes are smaller than anywhere else in the world; but whereas the average breadth of a Russian coach-box is scarcely more than twelve inches at the outside, the average breadth of a Russian coachman is a very different affair.

   7. A small rectangular shelter.

      Synonyms: shelter, booth

      sentry-box

      • 1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XXII, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume VI, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], OCLC 959921544, page 95:

        [M]y uncle Toby […] treated himſelf with a handſome ſentry-box, to ſtand at the corner of the bowling-green, betwixt which point and the foot of the glacis, there was left a little kind of eſplanade for him and the corporal to confer and hold councils of war upon. / —The ſentry-box was in caſe of rain.

   8. Short for horsebox (“container for transporting horses”).
      • 1877, Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], OCLC 228733457, part II, page 101:

        He was a fine-looking middle-aged man, and his voice said at once that he expected to be obeyed. He was very friendly and polite to John, and after giving us a slight look, he called a groom to take us to our boxes, and invited John to take some refreshment.

   9. (automotive) Short for gearbox.
      • 2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 181:

        They were capable of climbing most hills in second low but for this exercise we decided to go for the bottom of the box, just to be sure.

   10. (rail transport) Short for signal box.
       • 1960 March, “Talking of Trains: The Slough derailment”, in Trains Illustrated, page 132:

         Sparks from the derailed bogie of the train were first noticed by the signalman at Slough West box, who immediately sent to Slough Middle box the "Stop and Examine" signal, followed at once by "Obstruction Danger" when he realised that the coach was derailed.

   11. (figuratively) A predicament or trap.

       I’m really in a box now.

       • 2000, Dee Henderson, chapter 5, in True Devotion (Uncommon Heroes; book 1), Sisters, Or.: Palisades, →ISBN; republished Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005, →ISBN, page 67:

         He was going straight for the jugular. "Joe, this didn't make me afraid. I've done rescues before." / "Then you'll have no problem saying yes." / Her eyes narrowed. He was putting her in a box and doing it deliberately. There were times when his kind of leadership made her cringe.

   12. (slang) A prison cell.
       • 1951, William S. Burroughs, in Harris (ed.), Letters 1945–59, Penguin 2009, p. 98:

         While sojourning in the box I was greatly impressed by the kindness and decency of the Mexican people.

       1. (slang) A cell used for solitary confinement.

          Synonym: hole

          • 2003, Elayne Rapping, Law and Justice as Seen on TV (page 83)

            He is fearless and contemptuous, apparently able to withstand any discipline—including nights “in the box” […]

          • 2009, Megan McLemore, Barred from Treatment

            He had been in disciplinary confinement (“the box”)—punishment reserved for serious prison offenses—for 14 months.

          • 2020, Erin Hatton, Coerced: Work Under Threat of Punishment (page 89)

            […] he explained, “you can go to the box. So, I got a ticket for refusing an order and I went to the box in that situation. […]

   13. (euphemistic) A coffin.
       • 2010 March 6, Pauline Rogers, interviewee, “Soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan wants to return to frontline”, in The Telegraph‎^[1], London, archived from the original on 24 May 2010:

         Prior to the explosion we spoke about what would happen if he [Lance-Corporal James Simpson] died and came back in a box and what music he would want at his funeral.

   14. (slang) Preceded by the: television.

       Synonyms: (Britain) telly, tube, TV

       • 1988, Roald Dahl, “The Ghost”, in Matilda, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN; republished as “The Ghost”, in Matilda, New York, N.Y.: Puffin Books, 2007, →ISBN:

         Mr. Wormwood switched on the television. The screen lit up. The programme blared. Mr Wormwood glared at Matilda. She hadn't moved. She had somehow trained herself by now to block her ears to the ghastly sound of the dreaded box. She kept right on reading, and for some reason this infuriated the father.

   15. (slang, vulgar) The vagina.

       Synonyms: see Thesaurus:vagina

       • 2015 March, Allison Hobbs; Karen E. Quinones Miller, “Cheryl”, in Hittin’ It Out the Park: A Novel (Zane Presents), trade paperback edition, Largo, Md.: Strebor Books, →ISBN, page 27:

         Without warning, he withdrew his finger and drove his tongue inside her creamy, hot box. She gave a sharp intake of breath.

   17. (computing, slang) A computer, or the case in which it is housed.

       Synonyms: computer, machine; see also Thesaurus:computer

       a UNIX box

       • 1996 January 15, Siu Ha Vivian Chu, “DEC vt320 → linux boxen”, in comp.os.linux.networking, Usenet‎^[2], message-ID <4dceos$gg7@morgoth.sfu.ca>:

         i can't seem to find any how-to regarding connecting a terminal to a linux boxen via parallel port …

       • 2002 September 8, Gregory Seidman, “serving debian to redhat boxen”, in muc.lists.debian.user, Usenet‎^[3], message-ID <20020908205128.GA19944@cs.brown.edu>:

         Furthermore, it is necessary that all four Linux boxen have the same development environment […]

   19. (cricket) A hard protector for the genitals worn inside the underpants by a batsman or close fielder.

       Synonym: (US) cup

       • 2011, John Duncan, “Rory Bremner”, in Cricket Wonderful Cricket, London: John Blake Publishing, →ISBN:

         His [Rory Bremner's] brilliant story about having his box turned inside out by a delivery from Jeff Thomson – he contrasts it with Andrew Flintoff being hit in the box by Cardigan Connor. [David] Lloyd came up to Flintoff, and said, "Cardigan Connor? You consider it an honour to be hit by Cardigan. Do you remember Jeff Thomson? I was hit amidships by him, and it was not a glancing blow. I was wearing one of those old boxes – you know, the pink ones, like a soap dish. It ended up that everything that was supposed to be inside the box had come outside the box – through the air holes!"

   20. (cricket) Synonym of gully (“a certain fielding position”)
   21. (engineering) A cylindrical casing around the axle of a wheel, a bearing, a gland, etc.
       • 1844, Thomas Webster; assisted by the late Mrs. [William] Parkes, “[Book XXIII. Carriages.] Chap. VI. Various Details Respecting the Parts of a Carriage.”, in An Encyclopædia of Domestic Economy: […], London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], OCLC 458895446, paragraph 6684, page 1124:

         In common axles, the wheel is prevented from coming off by a pin, called the linch pin, passing through the end of the axletree arm, the name of the part that the wheel turns upon; but as many serious accidents have happened through the linch pin failing and the wheel coming off, an improved method of securing the latter is now practised, by means of a box called the axletree box, which is contrived to answer the double purpose of keeping on the wheel, and to hold oil, grease, or some lubricating substance for lessening the friction.

   22. (fencing) A device used in electric fencing to detect whether a weapon has struck an opponent, which connects to a fencer's weapon by a spool and body wire. It uses lights and sound to notify a hit, with different coloured lights for on target and off target hits.
       • 2009, Suzanne Slade, “Electric Fencing: Get Hooked Up”, in Fencing for Fun!, Mankato, Minn.: Compass Point Books, →ISBN, pages 30–31:

         In electric fencing, foil and saber fencers wear lames, which are thin outer jackets that cover their target areas. Lames are made from fabric that conducts electricity. When a fencer touches an opponent's lame with his or her blade, an electronic signal is sent to the scoring box. A colored light goes on to signal a touch. […] In épée, the whole body is the target, so épée fencers do not need to wear lames. A signal is sent to the scoring box from the épée any time a touch is made.

   23. (dated) A small country house.
       • 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.vi.9:

         “I dare say the sheriff, or the mayor and corporation, or some of those sort of people, would give him money enough, for the use of it, to run him up a mighty pretty neat little box somewhere near Richmond.”

       • 1782, William Cowper, “Retirement”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], OCLC 1029672464, page 282:

         Suburban villas, highway-ſide retreats, / That dread th' encroachment of our growing ſtreets, / Tight boxes, neatly ſaſh'd, and in a blaze / With all a July ſun's collected rays, / Delight the citizen, who gaſping there, / Breathes clouds of duſt and calls it country air.

       • [1840?], [John Mackay] Wilson, “The Runaway”, in Wilson’s Historical, Traditionary, and Imaginative Tales of the Borders, and of Scotland: […], volume VI, number 273, Manchester: Published by James Ainsworth, […]; London: E. T. Brain & Co., […]; New York, N.Y.: R. T. Shannon, OCLC 504620539, page 97:

         What can a man know of a country or its people, who, merely passes through the former in a stage coach? […] Such were the arguments by which I induced myself to undertake a pedestrian trip to join my friend at his shooting-box, some hundred and fifty miles from Carlisle, where I had arrived from London; business compelling me to take that route.

   24. (colloquial, chiefly Southern US) A stringed instrument with a soundbox, especially a guitar. [from 20th c.]
       • 1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Amistad 2013, p. 123:

         So Tea Cake took the guitar and played himself. He was glad of the chance because he hadn't had his hand on a box since he put his in the pawn shop to get some money to hire a car for Janie soon after he met her.

2. Senses relating to a two-dimensional object or space
   1. A rectangle: an oblong or a square.

      Place a tick in the box.

      This text would stand out better if we put it in a coloured box.

      • 2009, Natalie M[yra] Rosinsky, “Setting the Scene”, in Write Your Own Graphic Novel, Mankato, Minn.: Compass Point Books, →ISBN, page 16:

        [G]raphic novelists must think "inside the box" in some significant ways. Like comic books, each page of a graphic novel usually displays from one to nine outlined boxes with pictures and words that tell a story. Another tradition places the descriptions of events or scenes in smaller rectangles set within panels. These rectangles are called narrative boxes. […] Use narrative boxes with words such as "Far away" or "Meanwhile" to tell readers when you are moving the action somewhere else.

   2. (baseball) The rectangle in which the batter stands.
      • 2003, Jim Puhalla; Jeff Krans; Mike Goatley, “Soil”, in Baseball and Softball Fields: Design, Construction, Renovation, and Maintenance, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part I (Design and Construction), section 3.3c, page 64:

        As anyone who has ever maintained a baseball or softball diamond would agree, the pitcher's mound and batter's box present a special challenge. […] Batters dig in at the plate, disturbing the soil and making a hole that base runners must slide across when they approach the plate. To withstand the special stresses on these areas, only clay-based soils provide the necessary soil strength. […] [S]ome manufacturers have introduced clay-based soil products for pitcher's mounds and batter's boxes. These products include additives with special binding properties and are specifically designed to resist the stresses applied by the cleats of pitchers and batters.

   3. (genetics) One of two specific regions in a promoter.
      • 1990, David De Pomerai, “Gene Organisation and Control”, in From Gene to Animal: An Introduction to the Molecular Biology of Animal Development, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, section 1.3 (Transcriptional Control), page 11:

        Similar considerations apply in the case of tRNA genes, where the internal promoter is split into two functional domains (box A and box B) which must be a minimum distance apart […]. The first 11 bp of the internal control region in the Xenopus 5S gene are structurally and functionally homologous to the box A element of tRNA gene promoters, […]

   4. (juggling) A pattern usually performed with three balls where the movements of the balls make a boxlike shape.
      • 2010 April, Michael J. Gelb, 5 Keys to High Performance: Juggle Your Way to Success‎^[4], [Prince Frederick, Md.]: Gildan Digital, →ISBN, part III (The Art of Juggling: Expanding Your Influence with Spheres):

        Your hands rest on the bottom plane of the box, relaxed and open; forearms are parallel with the ground and elbows close to your body. Balls thrown from your right hand are aimed at the point to the left of center of the top of the box. When you hit this point the ball will land in your left hand. Balls thrown from your left hand are aimed at the point to the right of center of the top of the box.

   5. (lacrosse, informal) Short for box lacrosse (“indoor form of lacrosse”).
      • 2003, John Crossingham, “The Essentials” and “Goaltending”, in Bobbie Kalman, editor, Lacrosse in Action (Sports in Action), New York, N.Y.; St. Catharines, Ont.: Crabtree Publishing Company, →ISBN, pages 12 and 30:

        [page 12] Field players wear shoes with short spikes, called cleats, on the soles. Box players wear court shoes, which have grooved rubber soles. […] [page 30] Field goalies have larger nets to protect than goalies in box lacrosse have. Box goalies wear more pads.

   6. (soccer) The penalty area.
      • 2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 – 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport‎^[5], archived from the original on 16 December 2017:

        Poised link-up play between [Michael] Essien and [Frank] Lampard set the Ghanaian midfielder free soon after but his left-footed shot from outside the box was too weak.

   7. (aviation) A diamond-shaped flying formation consisting of four aircraft.

Usage notes

• (computing): the humorous plural form boxen is occasionally used.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

See also

• tofu (“empty box displayed by some computer systems in place of a character not supported by available fonts”)

Verb

box (third-person singular simple present boxes, present participle boxing, simple past and past participle boxed)

1. (transitive) To place inside a box; to pack in one or more boxes.
   • 1991 August, Karen Motylewski, “Surveying Your Own Institution: What Do You Need to Know?”, in What an Institution Can Do to Survey Its Own Preservation Needs (Technical Leaflet: General Preservation; 508-470-1010), Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, OCLC 25808350, section V.D.6 (Scrapbooks and Ephemera), page 21; reprinted in Sherry Byrne, Collection Maintenance and Improvement (Preservation Planning Program), Washington, D.C.: Association of Research Libraries, 1993, →ISBN, page 87:

     Scrapbooks that have enduring value in their original form should be individually boxed in custom-fitted boxes.

   • 2017, B. J. Daniels, “Gun-shy Bride”, in Cold Justice, 2nd Australian paperback edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Harlequin Mills & Boon, →ISBN, chapter 1:

     "I best get busy and box up these bones," she said, suddenly anxious to get moving. […] As she started to step around the grave washed out by last night's rainstorm, the sun caught on something caught in the mud.

2. (transitive) Usually followed by in: to surround and enclose in a way that restricts movement; to corner, to hem in.
   • 1996, Bill Borcherdt, “The Door Swings Both Ways: When Children Double Bind Their Parents”, in Making Families Work and What to Do when They Don’t: Thirty Guides for Imperfect Parents of Imperfect Children (Haworth Marriage and the Family), New York, N.Y.: The Haworth Press, →ISBN; republished Binghamton, N.Y.: The Haworth Press, 2007, →ISBN, page 65:

     A large majority of children seem to delight in emotionally boxing in their parents—setting the double-bind trap by giving the parent two choices but determining ahead of time that neither choice will be sufficient for their satisfaction.

3. (transitive) To mix two containers of paint of similar colour to ensure that the color is identical.
   • 2004, Brian Santos, “Painting Like a Pro”, in Painting Secrets from Brian Santos, the Wall Wizard, Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Books, →ISBN, page 95:

     Straining eliminates lumps in the paint. If the paint has separated, stir the thick paint up from the bottom of each can to free as many lumps as possible. Then box the paint, pouring it all together through a nylon paint strainer and into the bucket. Paint less than one year old usually doesn't require straining. Older paint might have a thick skin on the top; remove the skin and set it aside. Box the paint, pouring it through a nylon paint strainer into the bucket.

4. (transitive, agriculture) To make an incision or hole in (a tree) for the purpose of procuring the sap.
   • 1918 April, F. L. B., “The Maple Sugar Industry”, in Forest Leaves, volume XVI, number 8 (number 184 overall), Philadelphia, Pa.: Pennsylvania Forestry Association, OCLC 38266006, page 115, column 2:

     The early settlers either boxed the tree or cut large slanting gashes, from the lower end of which a rudely fashioned spout conducted the sap to a bucket. This method was very destructive to the tree, and boring was substituted for it.

5. (transitive, architecture) To enclose with boarding, lathing, etc., so as to conceal (for example, pipes) or to bring to a required form.
   • 2013, Ronald V[ictor] Clarke; David Lester, “Introduction to the Transaction Edition”, in Suicide: Closing the Exits, New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, →ISBN, page ix:

     As early as the 1850s, prisons were being made "safer" by boxing in water pipes and enclosing galleries with netting to prevent jumping.

6. (transitive, engineering) To furnish (for example, the axle of a wheel) with a box.
   • 1862 February 25, Archibald Alison, judge, “Sarah Hamil, or Docherty, relict of the deceased Daniel Docherty, Agnes Docherty, and Sarah Docherty, residing with her, his daughters and only children, v. James Alexander, Glasgow, Calenderer, defender”, in The Scottish Law Magazine and Sheriff Court Reporter, volume I (New Series), Glasgow: Thomas Murray & Son, […]; Edinburgh: Maclachlan and Stewart, published December 1862, OCLC 841742918, page 41, column 1:

     [T]he death of the said deceased Daniel Docherty, while in the defender's employment as an engineman, […] is alleged to have been owing to the engine house, which contained the engine of which the deceased had charge, being of a dangerous and improper construction, and the fly-wheel not having been boxed in or covered: […]

7. (transitive, graphic design, printing) To enclose (images, text, etc.) in a box.
8. (transitive, object-oriented programming) To place a value of a primitive type into a corresponding object.

Synonyms

• (to place inside a box): box up, case, embox, encase, pack, pack up, package

Antonyms

• (place inside a box): unbox, uncase, unpack

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2