Meanings
plural box standards · alternative box-standard · alternative boxed standard
- obsoleteA hollow tube frame used for a machine.
Box standard or boxed standard, the standard, or main framework, of a machine or engine, which is hollowed internally to obtain the maximum of strength with the minimum of material.
1888, Lockwood's Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering, page 451 more example
...the standards F 0, to support the jointing devices, consisting in the combination of the cutter-heads supported by adjustable box standards Y, having sliding bearings in the bars V f.
1884 June, Manufacturer & Builder, page 127
comparative more box standard · superlative most box standard · alternative box-standard · alternative boxed standard
- UKcolloquialengineering and technical contextshobbiesSynonym of standard, especially with connotations of plainness and lack of modification.
Synonyms: standard
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSynonym of standard, especially with connotations of plainness and lack of modification.
Origin
Originally in reference to the hollow-tube frames used as cases or mounting in various machines but now usually understood in reference to factory packaging and default standards.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
box standard. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/box%20standard
“box standard.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/box%20standard. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “box standard,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/box%20standard.
Source: box standard on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.