Word.ws English Dictionary

life is like a box of chocolates

life is like a box of chocolates proverb: life is full of surprises; you never know what will happen next.

Proverb

life is like a box of chocolates

  1. (simile) Life is full of surprises; you never know what will happen next.

Origin of life is like a box of chocolates

Appeared in the 1994 film Forrest Gump, when the lead character Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) says “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”

Questions about life is like a box of chocolates

What does life is like a box of chocolates mean?
Life is like a box of chocolates means life is full of surprises; you never know what will happen next.
What part of speech is life is like a box of chocolates?
Life is like a box of chocolates is a proverb.

Words near life is like a box of chocolates in the dictionary

  1. life insurances
  2. life insurer
  3. life insurers
  4. life interest
  5. life interests
  6. life is like a box of chocolates
  7. life is not all beer and skittles
  8. life is short
  9. life is too short
  10. life is what you make it
  11. life jacket

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: life is like a box of chocolates (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-life is like a box of chocolates.ogg.

Cite this entry: “life is like a box of chocolates.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/life_is_like_a_box_of_chocolates. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.