Word.ws English Dictionary

box

/bɒks//bɑks/

box noun: a cuboid space; a cuboid container, often with a hinged lid. Also the ellipsis of horsebox.

box: a cuboid space; a cuboid container, often with a hinged lid
Image: Senado Federal, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

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

  1. A cuboid space; a cuboid container, often with a hinged lid.
    • 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.1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 55
    • 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...1963, Margery Allingham, “The Elopers”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 33
    Synonyms:
    case, package
  2. A cuboid container and its contents; as much as fills such a container.
    • a box of books
    • 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: […]1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 325
    Synonyms:
    boxful
  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
    • 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, […]2015 March, Cindy Gerard, chapter 10, in Running Blind, 1st Pocket Books paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 73
  5. A numbered receptacle at a newspaper office for anonymous replies to advertisements; see also box number.
    • 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...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...
  6. A compartment to sit inside in an auditorium, courtroom, theatre, or other building.
    • 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...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, pages 101–102
    • One night he proposed a champagne supper, to which, he said he had invited a friend of his. I consented without hesitation, and soon after we proceeded to an eating house and seating ourselves in a private box, ordered supper.1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley, page 18
    Synonyms:
    loge
  7. The driver’s seat on a horse-drawn coach.
    • 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...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...
    Synonyms:
    box seat
  8. A small rectangular shelter.
    • sentry-box
    • [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...1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XXII, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume VI, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], →OCLC, page 95
    Synonyms:
    shelter, booth
  9. (figuratively) A predicament or trap.
    • I’m really in a box now.
    • 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.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
  10. (slang) A prison cell.
  11. (slang) A cell used for solitary confinement.
    • I am in what you call 'the box' confined to a 'special' housing unit for punishment because I stabbed some guys who call they self godly and are always beaten up on gays and she males because they hate homosexuals.1987 August 15, Alberto Rodriguez, “What's Your Opinion, Brothers & Sisters?”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 4
    • He is fearless and contemptuous, apparently able to withstand any discipline—including nights “in the box” […]2003, Elayne Rapping, Law and Justice as Seen on TV, page 83
    Synonyms:
    hole
  12. (euphemistic) A coffin.
    • 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.2010 March 6, Pauline Rogers (interviewee), “Soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan wants to return to frontline”, in The Telegraph, London, archived from the original on 24 May 2010
Show 18 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (slang, preceded by the) The television.
    • 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...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
    Synonyms:
    telly, tube, TV
  2. (slang, vulgar) The vagina.
    • Without warning, he withdrew his finger and drove his tongue inside her creamy, hot box. She gave a sharp intake of breath.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
  3. (slang) A computer, or the case in which it is housed.
    • a UNIX box
    • i can't seem to find any how-to regarding connecting a terminal to a linux boxen via parallel port …1996 January 15, Siu Ha Vivian Chu, “DEC vt320 → linux boxen”, in comp.os.linux.networking (Usenet), message-ID <4dceos$gg7@morgoth.sfu.ca>
  4. (slang) A gym dedicated to the CrossFit exercise program.
    • Joshua Newman, until last month a co-owner of CrossFit NYC, which says it is the world's largest box, recalled a member in the gym's early days who was nicknamed "Welcoming Committee."2014 August 8, Courtney Rubin, “CrossFit Flirting: Talk Burpee to Me”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022
    • Ter Kuile says people will sometimes bring their kids to their CrossFit "box," which is CrossFit for "gym."2017 June 24, Julie Beck, “How CrossFit Acts Like a Religion”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2022
  5. A hard protector for the genitals worn inside the underpants by a batsman or close fielder.
    • 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....2011, John Duncan, “Rory Bremner”, in Cricket Wonderful Cricket, London: John Blake Publishing, →ISBN
    Synonyms:
    cup
  6. Synonym of gully (“a certain fielding position”).
    Synonyms:
    gully
  7. A cylindrical casing around the axle of a wheel, a bearing, a gland, etc.
    • 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...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...
  8. 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.
    • 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...2009, Suzanne Slade, “Electric Fencing: Get Hooked Up”, in Fencing for Fun!, Mankato, Minn.: Compass Point Books, →ISBN, pages 30–31
  9. (dated) A small country house.
    • “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, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.vi.9
    • 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.1782, William Cowper, “Retirement”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 282
  10. (Southern US, colloquial) A stringed instrument with a soundbox, especially a guitar.
    • 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.1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Amistad, published 2013, page 123
  11. 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.
  12. The rectangle in which the batter stands.
    • 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...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...
  13. One of two specific regions in a promoter.
    • 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...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...
  14. A pattern usually performed with three balls where the movements of the balls make a boxlike shape.
    • 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....2010 April, Michael J. Gelb, 5 Keys to High Performance: Juggle Your Way to Success, [Prince Frederick, Md.]: Gildan Digital, →ISBN, part III (The Art of Juggling: Expanding Your Influence with...
  15. The penalty area.
    • 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.2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 – 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2017
  16. A diamond-shaped flying formation consisting of four aircraft.
  17. An area in the pit where the car is repaired and refueled.
    • “Okay Lewis, so box this lap, box, box”2020 February 7, Greg Stuart, “A beginner’s guide to… F1 slang”, in F1, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2024
    • When a driver is told to 'box, box', they're being instructed to make a pitstop. This is because 'box' sounds more distinct than 'pit' over the team radio, so there's less chance of confusion leading to an error. The word itself refers to the painted box outside a team's garage where pit stops take...2024 April 3, Joe Holding, Rebecca Braybrook, “What do DRS, black and white flag, porpoising and more mean? F1 terms explained”, in Autosport, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2024
  18. (broadly) A rectangular object in any number of dimensions.

Verb (1)

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.
    • He also testified that the reason he crated the one machine and boxed the other was because one machine was stronger and the other frailer, and that made it dangerous to crate it.1917, “Edwin B. Stimpson Co. v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co.”, in New York Supplement, volume 164, page 71
    • Scrapbooks that have enduring value in their original form should be individually boxed in custom-fitted 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...
  2. (transitive) Usually followed by in: to surround and enclose in a way that restricts movement; to corner, to hem in.
    • 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.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...
  3. (transitive) To mix two containers of paint of similar colour to ensure that the color is identical.
    • 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...2004, Brian Santos, “Painting Like a Pro”, in Painting Secrets from Brian Santos, the Wall Wizard, Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Books, →ISBN, page 95
  4. (transitive) To make an incision or hole in (a tree) for the purpose of procuring the sap.
    • 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.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, page 115, column 2
  5. (transitive) To enclose with boarding, lathing, etc., so as to conceal (for example, pipes) or to bring to a required form.
    • As early as the 1850s, prisons were being made "safer" by boxing in water pipes and enclosing galleries with netting to prevent jumping.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
  6. (transitive) To furnish (for example, the axle of a wheel) with a box.
    • [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...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...
  7. (transitive) To enclose (images, text, etc.) in a box.
  8. (transitive, object-oriented programming) To place a value of a primitive type into a casing object.
  9. To enter the pit.
    • “Okay Lewis, so box this lap, box, box”2020 February 7, Greg Stuart, “A beginner’s guide to… F1 slang”, in F1, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2024

Noun (2)

box (plural boxes)

  1. Any of various evergreen shrubs or trees of genus Buxus, especially common box, European box, or boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) which is often used for making hedges and topiary.
    • And no maruell. For, the leaues of Boxe be deletorious, poiſonous, deadlie, and to the bodie of man very noiſome, dangerous and peſtilent[…]1587, Leuinus Lemnius, translated by Thomas Newton, An Herball to the Bible […] , London: Edmund Bollifant, page 207
    • He strayed down a walk edged with box; with apple trees, pear trees, and cherry trees on one side, and a border on the other, full of all sorts of old-fashioned flowers, stocks, sweet-williams, primroses, pansies, mingled with southernwood, sweet-briar, and various fragrant herbs.1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter V, in Jane Eyre. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 130–131
  2. The wood from a box tree: boxwood.
    • Nevertheless, the application of woods other than box for purposes for which that wood is now used would tend to lessen the demand for box, and thus might have an effect in lowering its price.1885 April 10, John R. Jackson, “Boxwood and Its Substitutes”, in Journal of the Society of Arts, volume XXXIII, number 1,690, London: Published for the Society by George Bell and Sons, […], page...
  3. (slang) A musical instrument, especially one made from boxwood.
    • Evenin’, folks. Thought y’all might lak uh lil music this evenin’ so Ah brought long mah box.1937, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 11, in Their Eyes were Watching God: A Novel, Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: J.B. Lippincott Company, →OCLC; Illini Books...
  4. (Australia) An evergreen tree of the genus Lophostemon (for example, box scrub, Brisbane box, brush box, pink box, or Queensland box, Lophostemon confertus).
  5. (Australia) Various species of Eucalyptus trees are popularly called various kinds of boxes, on the basis of the nature of their wood, bark, or appearance for example, drooping box (Eucalyptus bicolor), shiny-leaved box (Eucalyptus tereticornis), black box, or ironbark box trees.
    • The name "Black Box" seems to be most generally in use for this species, Eucalyptus boormani; the even better name of "Ironbark Box" (which certainly indicates its affinities) is nearly as frequently in use.1909, J. H. Maiden, A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus, Government of the State of New South Wales

Noun (3)

box (plural boxes)

  1. A blow with the fist.
    • That he hath a neighbourly charitie in him, for he borrowed a boxe of the eare of the Engliſhman, and ſwore he would pay him againe when hee was able : I thinke the Frenchman became his ſuretie, and ſeald vnder for another.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • And then he whispered something to the girl which made her laugh, and give him a good-humoured box on the ear.1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Bold Dragoon, or The Adventure of My Grandfather”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 1 (Strange Stories. […]), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry]...
    Synonyms:
    blow, cuff, punch

Verb (2)

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

  1. (transitive) To strike with the fists; to punch.
    • to box someone’s ears
    • Leave this place before I box you!
  2. (transitive) To fight against (a person) in a boxing match.
  3. (intransitive, stative) To participate in boxing; to be a boxer.

Noun (4)

box (plural boxes)

  1. (dated) A Mediterranean food fish of the genus Boops, which is a variety of sea bream; a bogue or oxeye.
    • BOX. Box (Boops), […] In both jaws a single anterior series of broad incisors, notched at the cutting margin; no molars.1859, Albert Günther, “Fam. 7. SPARIDÆ”, in Catalogue of Acanthopterygian Fishes in the Collection of the British Museum, volume I (Gasterosteidæ, Berycidæ, Percidæ, Aphredoderidæ, Pristipomatidæ...
    • The Bogue. […] Box or Boops. Generic Character.—Body elongated, rounded, the dorsal and ventral profiles alike, and the general aspect peculiarly trim.1860, William Yarrell, “The Bogue”, in John Richardson, editor, Second Supplement to the First Edition of the History of British Fishes, […], London: John Van Voorst, […], →OCLC, page 6

Proper noun capitalized: Box

Box

  1. A surname.
    • The 10-inch increase forecast in the new study, which does not give a timeline, could be much higher if temperatures continue to rise, as they almost certainly will, said Jason Box, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland who was the paper’s lead author.2022 August 29, Elena Shao, “New Research Forecasts More Dire Sea Level Rise as Greenland’s Ice Melts”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2022
  2. A village in Minchinhampton parish, south of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England (OS grid ref SO8600).
  3. A village and civil parish near Corsham, Wiltshire, England (OS grid ref ST8268).

Also used as

box is also the ellipsis of horsebox.

box is also the ellipsis of gearbox.

box is also the ellipsis of stashbox.

box is also the ellipsis of signal box.

box is also the abbreviation of squeeze box.

box is also the ellipsis of box lacrosse.

box meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

box in Hindi

cuboid space; container
डिब्बा ḍibbā, संदूक़ sandūq, बकस bakas, बक्स baks, पेटी peṭī
compartment to sit inside
बक्स baks

box in Tamil

cuboid space; container
பெட்டி peṭṭi

box in Urdu

cuboid space; container
ڈِبَّہ ḍibba, ڈَبَّہ ḍabba, صَنْدُوق sandūq, بَکْس baks
compartment to sit inside
بَکْس baks

box in Bengali

cuboid space; container
বক্স bokśo, বাক্স bakśo
More languagesFewer languages
box in Telugu
పెట్టె peṭṭe
box in Malayalam
പെട്ടി peṭṭi
box in Kannada
ಪೆಟ್ಟಿಗೆ peṭṭige
box in Punjabi
ਡੱਬਾ ḍabbā, ਸੰਦੂਕ sandūk
box in Assamese
পেৰা pera, বাকচ bakos, জঁপা zõpa
box in Pashto
سخوبی sxóbay, قوطي qotáy, هړپۍ harpǝ́y, بکس baks
box in Tagalog
kahon, suntok
box in Arabic
صُنْدُوق ṣundūq, صَنْدُوق ṣandūq, عُلْبَة ʕulba, تَابُوت tābūt
box in Malay
kotak
box in Indonesian
kotak
box in Persian
شمشاد šemšâd, بوکس زدن boks zadan
box in Thai
กล่อง glɔ̀ng, กรอบ grɔ̀ɔp, ชก chók, หีบ hìip
box in Vietnamese
hộp
box in Myanmar
သေတ္တာ setta

Examples of box in a sentence

  • Add five words for address if replies are to come to a box number address at any of our offices.1924 December 1, “The Broadcaster: A Department that will Find what You Want: A Central Clearing House for All Your Business Wants”, in C....
  • He had been in disciplinary confinement (“the box”)—punishment reserved for serious prison offenses—for 14 months.2009, Megan McLemore, Barred from Treatment:
  • […] he explained, “you can go to the box.2020, Erin Hatton, Coerced: Work Under Threat of Punishment, page 89:
  • She had somehow trained herself by now to block her ears to the ghastly sound of the dreaded box.1988, Roald Dahl, “The Ghost”, in Matilda, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN; republished as “The Ghost”, in Matilda, New York, N.Y.: Puffin...

All 40 example sentences with box

Synonyms of box

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of box

Forms of box

Noun
pluralboxes
plural (nonstandard, humorous)boxen
Verb
third-person singular presentboxes
present participleboxing
past participleboxed
pastboxed
Proper noun
alternative formBoxx

Past tense of box: boxed

Plural of box: boxes

Origin of box

From Middle English box (“container, box, cup”), from Old English box (“box, case”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā (“box”) from Late Latin buxis (“box”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries”), of uncertain origin; compare Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”) and πύξος (púxos, “box tree; boxwood”). Doublet of piseog, pyx, and pyxis. 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 bössa (“box”). The humorous plural form boxen is from box + -en, by analogy with oxen. (motor racing): Used since it is more distinct over the radio compared to pit. Also from German Boxenstopp (“pit stop”).

From Middle English box (“box tree; boxwood”), from Old English box (“box tree”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhs (“box tree; thing made from boxwood”), from Latin buxus (“box tree; thing made from boxwood”), buxum (“box tree; boxwood”), possibly from πύξος (púxos, “box tree; boxwood”).

From Middle English box (“a blow; a stroke with a weapon”); further origin uncertain, with relation to Proto-Germanic *boki-, whence Danish bask (“a blow; a stripe”), Danish baske (“to flap, move around, beat violently”), Middle Dutch boke (“a blow, a hit”), bōken (“to slap, strike”) (modern Dutch beuken (“to slap”)), West Frisian bûkje, bûtse, bûtsje (“to slap”), West Frisian and Saterland Frisian batsje (“to slap”), Low German betschen (“to slap, beat with a flat hand”), Middle High German buc (“a blow, a stroke”), bochen (“to slap, strike”), and further onomatopoeic shaping. The verb is from Middle English boxen (“to beat or whip (an animal)”), which is derived from the noun.

Words formed from box

Phrases with box

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Words that rhyme with box

23 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about box

What does box mean?
Box means a cuboid space; a cuboid container, often with a hinged lid.
What is box in Hindi?
Box in Hindi is डिब्बा (ḍibbā), संदूक़ (sandūq), बकस (bakas). See Box meaning in Hindi.
How do you use box in a sentence?
Add five words for address if replies are to come to a box number address at any of our offices.
What part of speech is box?
Box can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce box?
Box is pronounced /bɒks/ (UK).
What is the plural of box?
The plural of box is boxes.

Words near box in the dictionary

  1. bowyang
  2. bowyangs
  3. bowyer
  4. bowyers
  5. bowyery
  6. box
  7. box and cox
  8. box and lock
  9. box and whisker plot
  10. box and whisker plots
  11. box and whiskers plot

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: box (page history and authors); Box (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-box.wav, en-us-box.ogg, EN-AU ck1 box.ogg.

Cite this entry: “box.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/box. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.