box

plural boxes · humorous nonstandard plural boxen

1. Senses relating to a three-dimensional object or space.
   1. 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.

      1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 55

      1 more example

      The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when modish taste was just due to go clean out of fashion for the best part of the next hundred years.

      1963, Margery Allingham, “The Elopers”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 33

      Synonyms: case, package

   2. A cuboid container and its contents; as much as fills such a container.

      a box of books

      1 more example

      He brought me also a Box of Sugar, a Box of Flour, a Bag full of Lemons, and two Bottles of Lime-juice, and abundance of other Things: […]

      1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 325

      Synonyms: boxful

   3. A compartment (as a drawer) of an item of furniture used for storage, such as a cupboard, a shelf, etc.
   4. A compartment or receptacle for receiving items.

      post box  post office box

      1 more example

      She'd picked up the high-tech phone from a post office box in Toronto a month ago. The key to that box had been mailed to a post office box in New York City. The Russians loved their cloak-and-dagger, particularly former KGB and Spetsnaz, Soviet special forces who ran the mafia, […]

      2015 March, Cindy Gerard, chapter 10, in Running Blind, 1st Pocket Books paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 73

   5. A numbered receptacle at a newspaper office for anonymous replies to advertisements; see also box number.

      1 more example

      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 letters of recommendation—send copies.

      1924 December 1, “The Broadcaster: A Department that will Find what You Want: A Central Clearing House for All Your Business Wants”, in C. A. Musselman, editor, Automobile Trade Journal, volume XXIX, number 6, Philadelphia, Pa.: Chilton Company, […], →OCLC, page 618, column 2

   6. A compartment to sit inside in an auditorium, courtroom, theatre, or other building.

      One night he proposed a champagne supper, to which, he said he had invited a friend of his. I consented without hesitation, and soon after we proceeded to an eating house and seating ourselves in a private box, ordered supper.

      1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley, page 18

      1 more example

      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 continue gradually riſing by ſome inches one above the other, and gradually receding to the ſides by ſome inches; by which means, every box would have a more commodious view of the ſtage; […]

      1767, [Francesco] Algarotti, “On the Structure of Theatres”, in An Essay on the Opera Written in Italian, London: Printed for L. Davis and C. Reymers, →OCLC, pages 101–102

      Synonyms: loge

   7. The driver’s seat on a horse-drawn coach.

      1 more example

      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 breadth of a Russian coach-box is scarcely more than twelve inches at the outside, the average breadth of a Russian coachman is a very different affair.

      1868 April 18, “Among Russian Peasantry”, in Charles Dickens, editor, All the Year Round. A Weekly Journal. [...] With which is Incorporated Household Words, volume XIX, number 469, London: Published at No. 26, Wellington Street; and by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 440, column 1

      Synonyms: box seat

   8. A small rectangular shelter.

      sentry-box

      1 more example

      [M]y uncle Toby […] treated himſelf with a handſome ſentry-box, to ſtand at the corner of the bowling-green, betwixt which point and the foot of the glacis, there was left a little kind of eſplanade for him and the corporal to confer and hold councils of war upon. / —The ſentry-box was in caſe of rain.

      1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XXII, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume VI, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], →OCLC, page 95

      Synonyms: shelter, booth

   9. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis 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.

      [1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 101

   10. abbreviationellipsisautomotiveEllipsis 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.

       2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 181

   11. abbreviationellipsisautomotiveEllipsis of stashbox.

       Thinkin' like Roddy, got a stick in the box (Roddy) Hide in another car, we just blickin' the opps (Bah)

       2023 May 24, “Bounce”, PGF Nuk (lyrics)

       Synonyms: stizzy

   12. abbreviationellipsisrail transportEllipsis 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.

       1960 March, “Talking of Trains: The Slough derailment”, in Trains Illustrated, page 132

   13. figurativelyA predicament or trap.

       I’m really in a box now.

       1 more example

       He was going straight for the jugular. "Joe, this didn't make me afraid. I've done rescues before." / "Then you'll have no problem saying yes." / Her eyes narrowed. He was putting her in a box and doing it deliberately. There were times when his kind of leadership made her cringe.

       2000, Dee Henderson, chapter 5, in True Devotion (Uncommon Heroes; book 1), Sisters, Or.: Palisades, →ISBN; republished Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005, →ISBN, page 67

   14. slangA prison cell.
   15. slangA cell used for solitary confinement.

       He is fearless and contemptuous, apparently able to withstand any discipline—including nights “in the box” […]

       2003, Elayne Rapping, Law and Justice as Seen on TV, page 83

       3 more examples

       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.

       1987 August 15, Alberto Rodriguez, “What's Your Opinion, Brothers & Sisters?”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 4

       He had been in disciplinary confinement (“the box”)—punishment reserved for serious prison offenses—for 14 months.

       2009, Megan McLemore, Barred from Treatment

       […] he explained, “you can go to the box. So, I got a ticket for refusing an order and I went to the box in that situation. […]

       2020, Erin Hatton, Coerced: Work Under Threat of Punishment, page 89

       Synonyms: hole

   16. euphemisticA 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.

       2010 March 6, Pauline Rogers (interviewee), “Soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan wants to return to frontline”, in The Telegraph, London, archived from the original on 24 May 2010

   17. slangpreceded by theThe television.

       1 more example

       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 father.

       1988, Roald Dahl, “The Ghost”, in Matilda, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN; republished as “The Ghost”, in Matilda, New York, N.Y.: Puffin Books, 2007, →ISBN

       Synonyms: telly, tube, TV

   18. slangvulgarThe vagina.

       Without warning, he withdrew his finger and drove his tongue inside her creamy, hot box. She gave a sharp intake of breath.

       2015 March, Allison Hobbs, Karen E. Quinones Miller, “Cheryl”, in Hittin’ It Out the Park: A Novel (Zane Presents), trade paperback edition, Largo, Md.: Strebor Books, →ISBN, page 27

       Synonyms: axe wound, bearded clam, beaver, berk, bonne bouche, bun, bush, cavern

   19. slangcomputingA computer, or the case in which it is housed.

       a UNIX box

       2 more examples

       i can't seem to find any how-to regarding connecting a terminal to a linux boxen via parallel port …

       1996 January 15, Siu Ha Vivian Chu, “DEC vt320 → linux boxen”, in comp.os.linux.networking (Usenet), message-ID <4dceos$gg7@morgoth.sfu.ca>

       Furthermore, it is necessary that all four Linux boxen have the same development environment […]

       2002 September 8, Gregory Seidman, “serving debian to redhat boxen”, in muc.lists.debian.user (Usenet), message-ID <20020908205128.GA19944@cs.brown.edu>

       Synonyms: computer, machine, 'puter, calculator, computer, data processing machine, electronic brain, electronic computer

   20. slangA gym dedicated to the CrossFit exercise program.

       Ter Kuile says people will sometimes bring their kids to their CrossFit "box," which is CrossFit for "gym."

       2017 June 24, Julie Beck, “How CrossFit Acts Like a Religion”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2022

       3 more examples

       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."

       2014 August 8, Courtney Rubin, “CrossFit Flirting: Talk Burpee to Me”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022

       Even CrossFitters disagree on how to read the clowns; some box owners join outsider critics in condemning them as dangerous and distance themselves from boxes that still display them.

       2018 June 21, Mark Hay, “Some CrossFit Gyms Feature Pictures of These Puking, Bleeding Clowns”, in VICE, archived from the original on 30 Sep 2022

       This is really sad, but I'd go to this amazing CrossFit box called Tio with barbells outside on the edge of a park so you can enjoy the sunshine. I'd go with friends, we'd play loud music, lift weights and get tanned.

       2021 August 22, Michael Segalov, quoting Joel Dommett, “Sunday with Joel Dommett: ‘In bed until 10am if I'm feeling fruity'”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 29 Nov 2022

   21. ball gamesA hard protector for the genitals worn inside the underpants by a batsman or close fielder.

       1 more example

       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. Do you remember Jeff Thomson? I was hit amidships by him, and it was not a glancing blow. I was wearing one of those old boxes – you know, the pink ones, like a soap dish. It ended up that everything that was supposed to be inside the box had come outside the box – through the air holes!"

       2011, John Duncan, “Rory Bremner”, in Cricket Wonderful Cricket, London: John Blake Publishing, →ISBN

       Synonyms: cup

   22. ball gamesSynonym of gully (“a certain fielding position”).

       Synonyms: gully

   23. engineeringA cylindrical casing around the axle of a wheel, a bearing, a gland, etc.

       1 more example

       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 of securing the latter is now practised, by means of a box called the axletree box, which is contrived to answer the double purpose of keeping on the wheel, and to hold oil, grease, or some lubricating substance for lessening the friction.

       1844, Thomas Webster, assisted by the late Mrs. [William] Parkes, “[Book XXIII. Carriages.] Chap. VI. Various Details Respecting the Parts of a Carriage.”, in An Encyclopædia of Domestic Economy: […], London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], →OCLC, paragraph 6684, page 1124

   24. fencingA 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.

       1 more example

       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 goes on to signal a touch. […] In épée, the whole body is the target, so épée fencers do not need to wear lames. A signal is sent to the scoring box from the épée any time a touch is made.

       2009, Suzanne Slade, “Electric Fencing: Get Hooked Up”, in Fencing for Fun!, Mankato, Minn.: Compass Point Books, →ISBN, pages 30–31

   25. datedA 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.”

       1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.vi.9

       2 more examples

       Suburban villas, highway-ſide retreats, / That dread th' encroachment of our growing ſtreets, / Tight boxes, neatly ſaſh'd, and in a blaze / With all a July ſun's collected rays, / Delight the citizen, who gaſping there, / Breathes clouds of duſt and calls it country air.

       1782, William Cowper, “Retirement”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 282

       What can a man know of a country or its people, who, merely passes through the former in a stage coach? […] Such were the arguments by which I induced myself to undertake a pedestrian trip to join my friend at his shooting-box, some hundred and fifty miles from Carlisle, where I had arrived from London; business compelling me to take that route.

       [1840?], [John Mackay] Wilson, “The Runaway”, in Wilson’s Historical, Traditionary, and Imaginative Tales of the Borders, and of Scotland: […], volume VI, number 273, Manchester: Published by James Ainsworth, […]; London: E. T. Brain & Co., […]; New York, N.Y.: R. T. Shannon, →OCLC, page 97

   26. Southern UScolloquialA stringed instrument with a soundbox, especially a guitar.First known use 20th c.

       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.

       1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Amistad, published 2013, page 123

   27. IrelandUKabbreviationcolloquialShort for squeeze box (“accordion or concertina”)
2. Senses relating to a two-dimensional object or space
   1. A rectangle: an oblong or a square.

      Place a tick in the box.

      2 more examples

      This text would stand out better if we put it in a coloured box.

      [G]raphic novelists must think "inside the box" in some significant ways. Like comic books, each page of a graphic novel usually displays from one to nine outlined boxes with pictures and words that tell a story. Another tradition places the descriptions of events or scenes in smaller rectangles set within panels. These rectangles are called narrative boxes. […] Use narrative boxes with words such as "Far away" or "Meanwhile" to tell readers when you are moving the action somewhere else.

      2009, Natalie M[yra] Rosinsky, “Setting the Scene”, in Write Your Own Graphic Novel, Mankato, Minn.: Compass Point Books, →ISBN, page 16

   2. ball gamesThe rectangle in which the batter stands.

      1 more example

      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 special stresses on these areas, only clay-based soils provide the necessary soil strength. […] [S]ome manufacturers have introduced clay-based soil products for pitcher's mounds and batter's boxes. These products include additives with special binding properties and are specifically designed to resist the stresses applied by the cleats of pitchers and batters.

      2003, Jim Puhalla, Jeff Krans, Mike Goatley, “Soil”, in Baseball and Softball Fields: Design, Construction, Renovation, and Maintenance, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part I (Design and Construction), section 3.3c, page 64

   3. biologyOne of two specific regions in a promoter.

      1 more example

      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 the box A element of tRNA gene promoters, […]

      1990, David De Pomerai, “Gene Organisation and Control”, in From Gene to Animal: An Introduction to the Molecular Biology of Animal Development, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, section 1.3 (Transcriptional Control), page 11

   4. artsA pattern usually performed with three balls where the movements of the balls make a boxlike shape.

      1 more example

      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. Balls thrown from your left hand are aimed at the point to the right of center of the top of the box.

      2010 April, Michael J. Gelb, 5 Keys to High Performance: Juggle Your Way to Success, [Prince Frederick, Md.]: Gildan Digital, →ISBN, part III (The Art of Juggling: Expanding Your Influence with Spheres)

   5. abbreviationellipsisinformalball gamesEllipsis 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.

      2003, John Crossingham, “The Essentials” and “Goaltending”, in Bobbie Kalman, editor, Lacrosse in Action (Sports in Action), New York, N.Y.; St. Catharines, Ont.: Crabtree Publishing Company, →ISBN, pages 12 and 30

   6. ball gamesThe 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.

      2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 – 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2017

   7. aeronauticsA diamond-shaped flying formation consisting of four aircraft.
   8. hobbiesAn area in the pit where the car is repaired and refueled.

      “Okay Lewis, so box this lap, box, box”

      2020 February 7, Greg Stuart, “A beginner’s guide to… F1 slang”, in F1, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2024

      1 more example

      When a driver is told to 'box, box', they're being instructed to make a pitstop. This is because 'box' sounds more distinct than 'pit' over the team radio, so there's less chance of confusion leading to an error. The word itself refers to the painted box outside a team's garage where pit stops take place, although some argue that it hails from 'boxenstopp', which is German for 'pit stop'.

      2024 April 3, Joe Holding, Rebecca Braybrook, “What do DRS, black and white flag, porpoising and more mean? F1 terms explained”, in Autosport, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2024

3. broadlygeometryA rectangular object in any number of dimensions.

   Synonyms: hyperrectangle, orthotope

present singular third person boxes · participle present boxing · participle past boxed · past boxed

1. transitiveTo place inside a box; to pack in one or more boxes.

   Scrapbooks that have enduring value in their original form should be individually boxed in custom-fitted boxes.

   1991 August, Karen Motylewski, “Surveying Your Own Institution: What Do You Need to Know?”, in What an Institution Can Do to Survey Its Own Preservation Needs (Technical Leaflet: General Preservation; 508-470-1010), Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, →OCLC, section V.D.6 (Scrapbooks and Ephemera), page 21; reprinted in Sherry Byrne, Collection Maintenance and Improvement (Preservation Planning Program), Washington, D.C.: Association of Research Libraries, 1993, →ISBN, page 87

   2 more examples

   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.

   1917, “Edwin B. Stimpson Co. v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co.”, in New York Supplement, volume 164, page 71

   "I best get busy and box up these bones," she said, suddenly anxious to get moving. […] As she started to step around the grave washed out by last night's rainstorm, the sun caught on something caught in the mud.

   2017, B. J. Daniels, “Gun-shy Bride”, in Cold Justice, 2nd Australian paperback edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Harlequin Mills & Boon, →ISBN, chapter 1

   Synonyms: box up, case, embox, encase, pack, pack up, package

2. transitiveUsually 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.

   1996, Bill Borcherdt, “The Door Swings Both Ways: When Children Double Bind Their Parents”, in Making Families Work and What to Do when They Don’t: Thirty Guides for Imperfect Parents of Imperfect Children (Haworth Marriage and the Family), New York, N.Y.: The Haworth Press, →ISBN; republished Binghamton, N.Y.: The Haworth Press, 2007, →ISBN, page 65

3. transitiveTo mix two containers of paint of similar colour to ensure that the color is identical.

   1 more example

   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 require straining. Older paint might have a thick skin on the top; remove the skin and set it aside. Box the paint, pouring it through a nylon paint strainer into the bucket.

   2004, Brian Santos, “Painting Like a Pro”, in Painting Secrets from Brian Santos, the Wall Wizard, Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Books, →ISBN, page 95

4. transitiveagricultureTo 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.

   1918 April, F. L. B., “The Maple Sugar Industry”, in Forest Leaves, volume XVI, number 8 (number 184 overall), Philadelphia, Pa.: Pennsylvania Forestry Association, →OCLC, page 115, column 2

5. transitivearchitectureTo 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.

   2013, Ronald V[ictor] Clarke, David Lester, “Introduction to the Transaction Edition”, in Suicide: Closing the Exits, New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, →ISBN, page ix

6. transitiveengineeringTo furnish (for example, the axle of a wheel) with a box.

   1 more example

   [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 boxed in or covered: […]

   1862 February 25, Archibald Alison (judge), “Sarah Hamil, or Docherty, relict of the deceased Daniel Docherty, Agnes Docherty, and Sarah Docherty, residing with her, his daughters and only children, v. James Alexander, Glasgow, Calenderer, defender”, in The Scottish Law Magazine and Sheriff Court Reporter, volume I (New Series), Glasgow: Thomas Murray & Son, […]; Edinburgh: Maclachlan and Stewart, published December 1862, →OCLC, page 41, column 1

7. transitiveartsTo enclose (images, text, etc.) in a box.
8. transitiveobject-oriented programmingTo place a value of a primitive type into a casing object.
9. hobbiesTo enter the pit.

   “Okay Lewis, so box this lap, box, box”

   2020 February 7, Greg Stuart, “A beginner’s guide to… F1 slang”, in F1, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2024

plural boxes

1. 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[…]

   1587, Leuinus Lemnius, translated by Thomas Newton, An Herball to the Bible […] , London: Edmund Bollifant, page 207

   2 more examples

   He strayed down a walk edged with box; with apple trees, pear trees, and cherry trees on one side, and a border on the other, full of all sorts of old-fashioned flowers, stocks, sweet-williams, primroses, pansies, mingled with southernwood, sweet-briar, and various fragrant herbs.

   1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter V, in Jane Eyre. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 130–131

   "Box makes a statement without having to do much: just trim twice a year and keep it weeded. It's a bit of a lazy gardener's plant." This, no doubt, is what makes box so popular with show home developers and city dwellers – there is scarce a balcony or front door anywhere that cannot be improved by a box ball in a pot.

   2014 November 19, Ambra Edwards, “Topiary: We're all going bonkers about box [print version: Bonkers about box, 22 November 2014, page G3]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)

2. 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.

   1885 April 10, John R. Jackson, “Boxwood and Its Substitutes”, in Journal of the Society of Arts, volume XXXIII, number 1,690, London: Published for the Society by George Bell and Sons, […], page 567, column 1

3. slangentertainmentA 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.

   1937, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 11, in Their Eyes were Watching God: A Novel, Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: J.B. Lippincott Company, →OCLC; Illini Books edition, Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1978, →ISBN, page 153

4. AustraliaAn evergreen tree of the genus Lophostemon (for example, box scrub, Brisbane box, brush box, pink box, or Queensland box, Lophostemon confertus).
5. AustraliaVarious 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.

   1909, J. H. Maiden, A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus, Government of the State of New South Wales

plural boxes

1. A blow with the fist.

   "Now, you are a nice young fellow, ain't you?" said Sowerberry, giving Oliver a shake and a box on the ear.

   1837 May, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “Oliver Continues Refractory”, in Oliver Twist; […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], published 1838, →OCLC, page 110

   3 more examples

   That he hath a neighbourly charitie in him, for he borrowed a boxe of the eare of the Engliſhman, and ſwore he would pay him againe when hee was able : I thinke the Frenchman became his ſuretie, and ſeald vnder for another.

   c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 166

   And then he whispered something to the girl which made her laugh, and give him a good-humoured box on the ear.

   1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Bold Dragoon, or The Adventure of My Grandfather”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 1 (Strange Stories. […]), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC, page 62

   Should any one attempt to fill his pockets, the money vanishes, and he is instantly assailed by a shower of boxes in the ear from invisible hands.

   1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 441

   Synonyms: blow, cuff, punch

present singular third person boxes · participle present boxing · participle past boxed · past boxed

1. transitiveTo strike with the fists; to punch.

   to box someone’s ears

   2 more examples

   Leave this place before I box you!

   Mrs. Reed soon rallied her spirits: she shook me most soundly, she boxed both my ears, and then left me without a word.

   1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IV, in Jane Eyre. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 42–43

2. transitiveboxingTo fight against (a person) in a boxing match.
3. intransitivestativeboxingTo participate in boxing; to be a boxer.

plural boxes

1. datedA 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.

   1859, Albert Günther, “Fam. 7. SPARIDÆ”, in Catalogue of Acanthopterygian Fishes in the Collection of the British Museum, volume I (Gasterosteidæ, Berycidæ, Percidæ, Aphredoderidæ, Pristipomatidæ, Mullidæ, Sparidæ), London: Printed [by Taylor and Francis] by order of the trustees [of the British Museum], →OCLC, page 418

   2 more examples

   The Bogue. […] Box or Boops. Generic Character.—Body elongated, rounded, the dorsal and ventral profiles alike, and the general aspect peculiarly trim.

   1860, William Yarrell, “The Bogue”, in John Richardson, editor, Second Supplement to the First Edition of the History of British Fishes, […], London: John Van Voorst, […], →OCLC, page 6

   BOGUE. BOX. OXEYE. […] In some parts of the European side of the Mediterranean the Bogue is a common fish, and where it frequents it is in great abundance.

   1862, Jonathan Couch, A History of the Fishes of the British Islands, volume I, London: Groombridge and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 225

alternative Boxx

1. 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.

   2022 August 29, Elena Shao, “New Research Forecasts More Dire Sea Level Rise as Greenland’s Ice Melts”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2022

2. A village in Minchinhampton parish, south of Stroud, Gloucestershire, England (OS grid ref SO8600).
3. A village and civil parish near Corsham, Wiltshire, England (OS grid ref ST8268).