Definition of box noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

box

noun

/bɒks/

/bɑːks/

Idioms

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container

enlarge image

[countable] (especially in compounds) a container made of wood, thick card, metal, etc. with a flat base and sides and often a lid (= cover), used especially for holding solid things

in a box Everything we owned was neatly packed in cardboard boxes.
She kept all the letters in a box.
inside a box Do you know what is inside the box?
She opened her money box to see if she had saved enough for a tennis racket.
a toolbox
a matchbox

shape

[countable] a square or rectangle on a page or computer screen for people to put information in or containing extra or different information

Put a cross in the appropriate box.
(British English) to tick a box
(North American English) to check a box
Type your query in the search box.
There are over 300 special note boxes in the dictionary.

in theatre/court

[countable] a small area in a theatre, court or sports stadium, separated off from where other people sit

The painting depicts two elegantly dressed women in a box at the opera.
The judge addressed the 12 people seated in the jury box.
They drank champagne as they watched the game from the executive box.

shelter

[countable] a small shelter used for a particular purpose

a sentry/signal box
(British English, old-fashioned) a telephone/phone box
There was a babble of languages in the commentary box when the race began.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

soundproof
call
phone
…

preposition

in a/the box
into a/the box

See full entry

television

the box

[singular] (especially British English, old-fashioned, informal) the television

on the box What's on the box tonight?

Topics TV, radio and newsc2

on road

[countable] (British English)

(also box junction)

a place where two roads cross or join, marked with a pattern of yellow lines to show that vehicles must not stop in that area

Only traffic turning right may enter the box.

in sport

[countable] an area on a sports field that is marked by lines and used for a particular purpose

(British English) He was fouled in the box (= the penalty box).

for mail

[countable]

(also box number)

a number used as an address, especially one given in newspaper advertisements to which replies can be sent see also PO box

protection

[countable] (British English) a piece of plastic that a man wears over his sex organs to protect them while he is playing a sport, especially cricket compare cup (10)Topics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2

tree/wood

[countable, uncountable] a small evergreen tree or bush with thick dark leaves, used especially for garden hedges

(also boxwood)

[uncountable] the hard wood of the box tree

Word Originnoun senses 1 to 10 late Old English, probably from late Latin buxis, from Latin pyxis ‘boxwood box’, from Greek puxos. noun senses 11 to 12 Old English, via Latin from Greek puxos.

Idioms

a bag/box of tricks

(informal) a set of methods or equipment that somebody can use
- Hotel managers are using a whole new bag of tricks to attract their guests.

give somebody a box on the ears

(also box somebody's ears)
(old-fashioned) to hit somebody with your hand on the side of their head as a punishment

think out of the box

to think about something, or how to do something, in a way that is new, different or shows imagination

tick all the/somebody’s boxes

(British English, informal) to do exactly the right things to please somebody
- This is a movie that ticks all the boxes.
- The house we would like to buy ticks all our boxes.

See box in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee box in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: box

Other results

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Phrasal verbs

box somebody/something in

Idioms

Nearby words

hat-trick

noun

From the Topic

Sports

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