box

SayBOKS/bɑks/UK/bɒks/

Pluralboxes

Verbboxes, boxing, boxed

54 meanings of box

Practice

1
nouncountable
A container with flat sides and often a lid, or the amount it holds, as in 'a box of cereal'.
Put your toys back in the box before dinner.
Grandma keeps her old photos in a wooden box with a lid.
UsageA box of toys contains toys. A box for toys is meant to hold them.
Similarcontainer, case, carton, crate, chest
2
nouncountable
A framed space on a screen or web page where you type, pick an option, or read a message.
Type your name in the box at the top of the page.
A box popped up asking if I wanted to save my work.
UsageYou type in the box.
Similarfield, window
3
fight (sport)verbintransitive
To fight someone with your fists as a sport, wearing padded gloves.
My cousin boxes at a gym downtown.
He learned to box when he was twelve.
UsageHe boxed in college means he did the sport there. He was boxed in means he was trapped.
Similarfight
4
collection slotnouncountable
A container where people drop off or pick up things, like letters or votes.
Drop your letter in the box outside the post office.
Put your vote in the box by the door.
UsageOften part of a longer name: ballot box, post office box.
Similarpigeonhole, receptacle
Note
5
drawn rectanglenouncountable
A flat shape with four straight sides and square corners.
Draw a box around the correct answer.
Check the box next to your name on the form.
UsageYou tick a box on a form.
Similarrectangle, square, frame
Note
6
verbtransitive
To put something inside a box, or to pack things into boxes.
Please box the leftovers so we can take them home.
We boxed all the books before the move.
UsagePeople often say box up: we boxed up our clothes.
Similarpack, package, crate
Oppositeunpack
7
computer hardwarenounslangcountable
A computer, or the case that holds its parts.
My old box can't run new games anymore.
He built a cheap box just for storing files and photos.
Similarcomputer, machine
Note
8
booth (theater)nouncountable
A small separate area with seats in a theater, courtroom, or stadium.
Their family rented a box at the ballpark for the whole season.
Our seats were in a box at the side of the theater.
Similarloge
Note
9
nouncountable
A small simple shelter with straight sides, like the hut where a guard stands.
The guard stood in his box at the palace gate all afternoon.
Each night a watchman sat in a small wooden box beside the factory gate.
Similarbooth, shelter
Note
10
penalty areanouncountable
In soccer, the large marked area in front of the goal where a foul can mean a penalty kick.
The striker was pushed over inside the box, and the referee gave a penalty.
Our goalkeeper rushed out of the box to kick the ball away.
Similararea
Note

Less common meanings

11
verbtransitive
To close in around someone or something so they cannot move or get out. Often used with 'in'.
A delivery truck boxed our car in this morning.
Don't let the other runners box you in at the start of the race.
UsageUsually with in: a truck boxed us in.
Similarhem, pen, trap, corner, surround
Note
12
batter's areanouncountable
In baseball, the marked rectangle where the batter stands to hit.
He stepped into the box and waited for the first pitch.
She tapped her bat on the plate before settling into the box.
Note
13
gearsnounabbreviationellipsis
Short for gearbox: the part of a vehicle that holds the gears.
The old truck's box makes a grinding noise in second gear.
The mechanic said the box needs new oil, not a full repair.
Note
14
nounslang
The television.
There's nothing good on the box tonight.
Dad fell asleep in front of the box again.
SimilarTV, telly, tube
Note
15
drawernouncountable
A drawer or other storage space built into a piece of furniture.
The desk has a small box built into one side for pens.
Each box in our shelf unit holds a basket of toys.
Similardrawer, compartment
16
hedge shrubnouncountable or uncountable
A garden bush that stays green all year and is often cut into neat hedges and shapes.
A low hedge of box runs along both sides of the garden path.
The gardener trimmed the box into the shape of a bird.
Similarboxwood
Note
17
hit with fistsverbtransitive
To hit someone with your hand or fist, usually on the side of the head.
Grandpa said he would box my ears if I lied again.
She boxed his ears and stormed off.
UsageMostly in the phrase box someone's ears.
Similarcuff, punch, clout, hit, strike
Note
18
verbtransitive
To draw or print a frame around words or pictures on a page.
Like putting a frame around a photo so people notice it.
Please box your final answer so the grader can find it.
The designer boxed the photo to make it stand out on the page.
Similarframe, border, enclose
Note
19
tight spotnounfigurativelycountable
A difficult situation that is hard to get out of.
Like being stuck in a small room with no way out.
The new rules put the company in a box.
He talked himself into a box during the job interview.
UsageYou can be in a box, or put someone in a box.
Similarbind, corner, jam, fix, hole
Note
20
vaginanounslangvulgarcountable
A very rude slang word for a woman's vagina.
He made a rude joke about her box and got slapped.
The lyrics were so crude that every verse bragged about some girl's box.
Similarpussy, snatch, beaver
Note
21
coffinnouneuphemisticcountable
A coffin: the long container a dead person is buried in.
Grandpa always joked that he wanted a plain wooden box when his time came.
The family chose a simple pine box for the funeral.
Similarcoffin, casket
Note
22
nouncountable
A hit with the open hand or the fist, especially on the ear.
He gave the bully a box on the ear and ran.
He got a box on the ear for talking back.
Similarcuff, clout, blow, punch, smack
Note
23
prison cellnounslang
A slang word for the small locked room where a prisoner stays.
He spent ten years in a box for a robbery he swore he never did.
After the fight in the yard, the guards threw him in the box for a week.
Similarhole, cell, solitary
Note
24
pit areanouncountable
In car racing, the team's spot beside the track where the car stops for fuel and repairs.
The car pulled into the box for new tires.
The team waited in the box, holding the fuel hose ready.
Similarpit
Note
25
pale woodnoununcountable
The hard, smooth, pale yellow wood of the box tree.
The little flute was carved from box and felt heavy for its size.
He keeps a set of chess pieces made of polished box.
Similarboxwood
Note
26
groin guardnouncountable
In cricket, a hard cup worn under the clothes to protect a player's private parts.
Every player on the team puts on a box before going out to bat.
The ball hit him right in the box, and he needed a minute to recover.
Similarcup
Note
27
horse trailernounabbreviationellipsis
Short for horsebox: a trailer or truck that carries horses.
We loaded the pony into the box before the long drive to the show.
The mare refuses to walk up the ramp into the box.
Note
28
driver's seatnouncountable
The high seat at the front of a horse-drawn coach where the driver sits.
The driver climbed up onto the box and took the reins.
The coachman climbed up onto the box and picked up the reins.
Note
29
verbtransitive
To build a cover of boards around something, such as pipes, to hide it or give it a shape.
We plan to box in the pipes behind the toilet with wooden boards.
Dad boxed the hot water pipes in and painted the boards white.
UsageUsually box in: we boxed in the pipes with wood.
Similarenclose, encase
Note
30
noun
In math, a shape like a rectangle or a block, with flat sides and square corners.
31
nounAustralia
Any of several eucalyptus trees, named for their wood, their bark, or the way they look.
32
noun
A numbered place at a newspaper that collects replies to an ad, so the advertiser stays unnamed.
33
noun
A small container where someone hides drugs.
34
noun
A small building next to a railway where workers control the signals.
35
nounslang
A prison room where someone is locked up alone.
36
nounslang
A gym where people do CrossFit workouts.
37
noun
In cricket, a fielding place close to the batter, between the slips and point.
38
noun
A tube-shaped case around a machine part, such as a wheel's axle.
39
noun
A machine in fencing that shows with lights and sound when a fencer is hit.
40
noundated
A little home out in the countryside, often used when hunting.
“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
41
noundialectalSouthern US
A guitar or other instrument with strings and a hollow body.
42
nouncolloquialIrelandUK
An accordion or similar instrument that you squeeze to play.
43
noun
One of two short parts of DNA that help a gene switch on.
44
noun
A juggling trick, usually with three balls, thrown up and sideways so their paths form a box.
45
nouncolloquial
Lacrosse played indoors on a walled rink, with fewer players than outdoor lacrosse.
46
noun
Four planes flying together in a diamond shape.
47
verb
To mix cans of paint together so all the paint is exactly the same color.
48
verb
To cut a hole in a tree to collect its sap.
49
verb
To fit a wheel's axle or a similar part with a case or lining.
50
verb
In programming, to put a simple value inside an object.
51
verb
In car racing, to drive in for a pit stop.
52
nounslang
Something you play music on, often made from the wood of the box tree.
53
nounAustralia
An Australian tree that stays green all year, such as the brush box.
54
noundated
A small Mediterranean sea fish, the bogue, which people catch to eat.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of box apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–15, 18–21, 23–24, 26–29

It comes from Old English "box," meaning a box or case. This came from Latin "pyxis," a small box for medicines, whose earlier origin is uncertain.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

English box descends from Old English box, meaning box or case. en.wiktionary.org
The word ultimately derives through intermediate forms from Latin pyxis. en.wiktionary.org
Latin pyxis means a small box for medicines. en.wiktionary.org
The ultimate origin is uncertain, although the intervening Greek derivation is known. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 16, 25

This "box" means the box tree. It comes from Old English "box" (box tree), from Latin "buxus," possibly from Greek "púxos."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

This is the tree sense of box. en.wiktionary.org
The word descends from Old English box, meaning box tree. en.wiktionary.org
The word ultimately derives from Latin buxus. en.wiktionary.org
Greek púxos is a proposed source of Latin buxus. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 3, 17, 22

This "box," meaning a blow or hit, comes from Middle English "box." Its earlier origin is uncertain and may be imitative of the sound.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Box meaning a blow or hit comes from Middle English box. en.wiktionary.org
Its earlier origin is uncertain, with a possible sound-imitative contribution. en.wiktionary.org