black box
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black box
- /ˈblæk.bɒx/
Where it comes from
* Since c. 1945 in both main senses (that is, event recorders and objects with unknown innards), which are historically related to each other; for details, see black box § History and flight recorder § Terminology.
* (a type of theater): Such theaters are often painted black.
noun black boxes · blackbox
-
A flight recorder; the brightly colored cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders in an aircraft designed to aid in determining the cause of an accident.
scrutinizing all utterances recorded by the black box
Similar: event recorder, opaque box, trip recorder
- Any similar device on motor vehicles, such as rail event recorders and ship trip recorders. the pilothouse's analogue of an airliner's black box
- A theoretical construct or device with known input and output characteristics but unknown method of operation. The authentication method and its details can be treated as a black box for purposes of this security architecture overview.
- A device used in phreaking that prevents the calling party from being billed for the call placed.
- A type of theater characterized by a lack of decoration or complex mechanisms.
-
Synonym of football (“the leather briefcase containing classified nuclear war plans which is always near the US President”)
Similar: football
verb black boxes · black boxing · black boxed · blackbox
- To focus on the inputs and outputs without worrying about the internal complexity.
Translations
Every language
noun recorders in an aircraft
| Español | caja negra |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 블랙박스 beullaekbakseu |
| 日本語 | ブラックボックス burakku bokkusu |
| 中文 | 黑箱 hēixiāng, 黑匣子 hēixiázi, 黑盒子 hēihézi |
| हिन्दी | ब्लैक बॉक्स blaik bŏks |
| Português | caixa-preta, caixa-negra |
| Français | boîte noire |
| Deutsch | Flugschreiber, Blackbox |
| Italiano | scatola nera, registratore di volo |
| Română | cutie neagră, înregistrător de zbor |
| Русский | чёрный я́щик čórnyj jáščik |
| Tiếng Việt | hộp đen |
| العربية | صُنْدُوق أَسْوَد ṣundūq ʔaswad |
| עברית | קופסה שחורה kufsá sh'khorá |
noun theoretical construct or device
| Español | caja negra |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 블랙박스 beullaekbakseu |
| 日本語 | ブラックボックス burakku bokkusu |
| 中文 | 黑箱 hēixiāng, 黑盒 hēihé |
| Português | caixa-preta, caixa-negra |
| Français | boîte noire |
| Deutsch | Blackbox |
| Italiano | scatola nera |
| Română | cutie neagră |
| Русский | чёрный я́щик čórnyj jáščik |
| العربية | صُنْدُوق أَسْوَد ṣundūq ʔaswad |
| עברית | קופסה שחורה kufsá sh'khorá |
Talk about this word "black box." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/black%20box. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. black box. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/black%20box "black box." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/black%20box.Cite this
@misc{black_box_2026,
title = {black box},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/black%20box},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
