box
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box¹
- /bɒks/ UK
- /bɑks/ US
Rhymes with -ɒks
Where it comes from
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”).
noun boxes · boxen
- 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.
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A cuboid container and its contents; as much as fills such a container.
a box of books
Similar: boxful
- A compartment (as a drawer) of an item of furniture used for storage, such as a cupboard, a shelf, etc.
- A compartment or receptacle for receiving items. post box post office box
- 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 original
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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
Similar: loge
-
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 breadt
Similar: box seat
- A small rectangular shelter. sentry-box
- Ellipsis of horsebox (“container for transporting horses”). 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.
- Ellipsis of gearbox 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.
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Ellipsis of stashbox
Thinkin' like Roddy, got a stick in the box (Roddy)
Hide in another car, we just blickin' the opps (Bah)
Similar: stizzy
- Ellipsis of signal box 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.
- A predicament or trap. I’m really in a box now.
- A prison cell.
-
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.
Similar: hole
- 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.
- 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 fath
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The vagina.
Without warning, he withdrew his finger and drove his tongue inside her creamy, hot box. She gave a sharp intake of breath.
Similar: axe wound, bearded clam, beaver, berk, bonne bouche, box, bun, bush, cavern, clunge, coin slot, cooch
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A computer, or the case in which it is housed.
a UNIX box
Similar: computer, machine, 'puter, box, calculator, data processing machine, electronic brain, electronic computer, number cruncher, thinking machine
- 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."
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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.
Similar: cup
-
Synonym of gully (“a certain fielding position”).
Similar: gully
- 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
- 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 g
- 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.”
- 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.
- Short for squeeze box (“accordion or concertina”)
- A rectangle: an oblong or a square. Place a tick in the box.
- 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 sp
- 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
- 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. B
- Ellipsis of box lacrosse (“indoor form of lacrosse”). [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.
- 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.
- A diamond-shaped flying formation consisting of four aircraft.
- An area in the pit where the car is repaired and refueled. “Okay Lewis, so box this lap, box, box”
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A rectangular object in any number of dimensions.
Similar: hyperrectangle, orthotope
verb boxes · boxing · boxed
-
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.
Similar: box up, case, embox, encase, pack, pack up, package
- 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.
- 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 req
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- To enclose (images, text, etc.) in a box.
- To place a value of a primitive type into a casing object.
- To enter the pit. “Okay Lewis, so box this lap, box, box”
box²
- /bɒks/ UK
- /bɑks/ US
Rhymes with -ɒks
Where it comes from
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”).
noun boxes
- 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[…]
- 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.
- 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.
- An evergreen tree of the genus Lophostemon (for example, box scrub, Brisbane box, brush box, pink box, or Queensland box, Lophostemon confertus).
- 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.
box³
- /bɒks/ UK
- /bɑks/ US
Rhymes with -ɒks
Where it comes from
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.
noun boxes
verb boxes · boxing · boxed
- To strike with the fists; to punch. to box someone’s ears
- To fight against (a person) in a boxing match.
- To participate in boxing; to be a boxer.
box⁴
- /bɒks/ UK
- /bɑks/ US
Rhymes with -ɒks
Where it comes from
From Latin bōx, from Ancient Greek βῶξ (bôx, “box (marine fish)”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + ὤψ (ṓps, “eye, view”), a reference to the large size of the fish's eyes relative to its body.
noun boxes
- 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.
Box⁵
proper noun Boxx
- 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.
- A village in Minchinhampton parish, south of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England (OS grid ref SO8600).
- A village and civil parish near Corsham, Wiltshire, England (OS grid ref ST8268).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: package, loge, corner, box seat, boxwood, bin, chest, toolbox, shoebox, crate, locker, lockbox, drawer, closet, briefcase, carton
Translations
Every language
noun compartment or receptacle for receiving items
| Français | boîte |
|---|---|
| Русский | я́щичек jáščiček, коро́бочка koróbočka |
noun rectangular border around an image, text, etc.
| Español | marco |
|---|---|
| Français | encadré, cadre |
| Italiano | cornice, riquadro |
| Ελληνικά | πλαίσιο plaísio |
| Русский | квадра́т kvadrát |
noun cuboid space; container
| Español | caja |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 상자 sangja, 박스 bakseu |
| 日本語 | 箱 hako, 入れ物 iremono, ボックス bokkusu |
| 中文 | 箱子 xiāngzi, 箱 xiāng, 盒子 hézi, 匣子 xiázi |
| हिन्दी | डिब्बा ḍibbā, संदूक़ sandūq, बकस bakas, बक्स baks, पेटी peṭī |
| Kiswahili | sanduku |
| Português | caixa |
| Français | boîte, caisse |
| Deutsch | Kasten, Kiste, Box, Karton |
| Italiano | scatola, bussolotto |
| Ελληνικά | κιβώτιο kivótio, κουτί koutí, κασόνι kasóni |
| Română | cutie |
| Русский | коро́бка koróbka, я́щик jáščik, сунду́к sundúk, футля́р futljár, шкату́лка škatúlka, бокс boks |
| Tiếng Việt | hộp |
| العربية | صُنْدُوق ṣundūq, صَنْدُوق ṣandūq, عُلْبَة ʕulba, تَابُوت tābūt |
| עברית | קופסה \ קֻפְסָה kufsá |
noun as much as fills a box
| Español | caja |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 一箱 yī xiāng, 箱 xiāng |
| Português | caixa |
| Français | boîte |
| Italiano | scatola |
| Română | cutie |
| Русский | я́щик jáščik, коро́бка koróbka |
| Tiếng Việt | hộp |
noun compartment of an item of furniture
| Español | cajón |
|---|---|
| Français | case |
| Italiano | deposito |
| Ελληνικά | συρτάρι syrtári |
| Русский | я́щик jáščik, я́щичек jáščiček |
noun compartment to sit inside
| Español | palco, luneta |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 박스 bakseu |
| 日本語 | ボックス bokkusu |
| 中文 | 證人席 /证人席 zhèngrén xí, 分隔式雅座 fēn gé shì yǎzuò, 包廂 /包厢 bāoxiāng |
| हिन्दी | बक्स baks |
| Português | camarote |
| Français | loge |
| Deutsch | Loge |
| Italiano | palco, palchetto, loggia |
| Ελληνικά | θεωρείο theoreío, εδώλιο edólio |
| Română | lojă |
| Русский | ло́жа lóža |
noun small rectangular shelter
| Español | garita |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 小室 xiǎoshì, 亭 tíng, 棚 péng |
| Português | cubículo |
| Français | guérite |
| Italiano | garitta, guardiola, casotto, gabbiotto |
| Ελληνικά | θάλαμος thálamos, φυλάκιο fylákio, σκοπιά skopiá, οικίσκος oikískos |
| Română | cabană, baracă |
| Русский | бу́дка búdka, каби́на kabína, каби́нка kabínka |
noun (slang) television
| Español | tele |
|---|---|
| Português | tevê |
| Français | téloche, télé, lucarne |
| Italiano | tele |
| Ελληνικά | χαζοκούτι chazokoúti |
| Русский | я́щик jáščik, те́лик télik |
noun (slang, vulgar) the vagina
| Português | boceta |
|---|---|
| Français | salle de jeu, cheminée, boutique |
| Deutsch | Dose |
| Русский | манда́ mandá |
noun computer, or the case in which it is housed
| 中文 | 電腦 /电脑 diànnǎo |
|---|---|
| Português | gabinete |
| Français | boîtier, tour |
| Ελληνικά | κουτί koutí |
| Русский | комп komp |
| Tiếng Việt | hộp |
noun (cricket) hard protector for the genitals
| 中文 | 護身 /护身 hùshēn |
|---|---|
| Français | coquille, protège-sexe |
| Italiano | conchiglia, sospensorio |
noun (engineering) cylindrical casing
| Italiano | scatola, scatola del cambio |
|---|---|
| Română | cutie |
| Русский | бокс boks |
noun small area on a document for a tick mark
| Español | casilla |
|---|---|
| Français | case |
| Italiano | casella |
| Ελληνικά | κουτάκι koutáki, τετραγωνίδιο tetragonídio |
| Русский | квадра́тик kvadrátik |
verb to place inside a box
| Español | encajonar |
|---|---|
| Português | encaixotar |
| Français | emboîter, mettre en boîte |
| Deutsch | verpacken, einpacken |
| Italiano | inscatolare |
verb (architecture) to enclose with boarding, lathing, etc.
| Français | cacher |
|---|
noun shrub or tree of the genus Buxus — see also box tree
| Español | boj |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 黃楊木 /黄杨木 huángyángmù |
| Português | buxo, buxeiro, buxeira |
| Français | buis |
| Deutsch | Buchsbaum, Buchs |
| Italiano | bosso |
| Ελληνικά | πυξάρι pyxári, τσιμσίρι tsimsíri, τσιμισίρι tsimisíri |
| Română | cimișir |
| Русский | букс buks, самши́т samšít |
| العربية | شَمْشَاد šamšād, شَمْشِير šamšīr, شَمْشَار šamšār, عَثَق ʕaṯaq, بُقْس buqs |
noun blow with the fist
| Español | puñetazo |
|---|---|
| Português | soco |
| Français | coup de poing |
| Deutsch | Boxhieb, Boxschlag |
| Italiano | pugno |
| Ελληνικά | γροθιά grothiá |
| العربية | لَكْمَة lakma |
verb to strike with the fists
| 中文 | 打 dǎ, 耳光 ěrguāng |
|---|---|
| Português | socar |
| Français | boxer |
| Deutsch | boxen |
| Italiano | boxare |
| Ελληνικά | γρονθοκοπώ gronthokopó |
| Русский | ту́зить túzitʹ, отту́зить ottúzitʹ |
| العربية | لَكَمَ lakama |
Talk about this word "box." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/box. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. box. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/box "box." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/box.
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@misc{box_2026,
title = {box},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/box},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
