Meanings
plural slushboxes
- slangautomotiveSynonym of automatic transmission.
The slushbox did nothing to improve an already sluggish response.
1 more example
Slushboxes are taking over the scrub. Once scorned in the bush, the automatic gearbox today is more widely accepted in traditional four-wheel drive wagons. "Bush bashers go auto." The Sunday Telegraph. 2002 July 21. Pg. A05.
Synonyms: automatic transmission
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of automatic transmission.
Origin
From slush + box, in reference to the fluid-coupling action of the torque converter. A popular notion portrays this action as "slushing around" that involves greater power losses than with manual transmissions, although the notion is a comic exaggeration.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
slushbox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slushbox
“slushbox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slushbox. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slushbox,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slushbox.
Source: slushbox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.