unbox

U1N1B3O1X8

verb

To remove from a box.

Similar
unpackuncaseundo
Opposite
packbox upbox
OriginEnglish box ← Middle English box ← Old English box →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

verbunbox (third-person singular simple present unboxes, present participle unboxing, simple past and past participle unboxed)

present singular third person unboxes · participle present unboxing · participle past unboxed · past unboxed

  1. transitiveTo remove from a box.

    The booksellers' tasks were to unbox, shelve, and handle cash.

    2005, Andrew Laties, Rebel Bookseller
    1 more example

    Clips in which children’s toys are unboxed are some of the most popular videos on YouTube.

    2014 December 16, Alex Frank, “Happy Unboxing Day! A Small Guide to the Very Large World of Unboxing Videos”, in Vogue

    Synonyms: unpack, uncase, undo

  2. transitivecomputingTo retrieve (a value of a primitive type) from the object in which it is boxed.

    When a boxing or unboxing operation occurs in code, whether it was implicit or explicit, the IL generated includes the box or unbox command.

    2004, Stephen Teilhet, Jay Hilyard, C# Cookbook

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo remove from a box.

Similar
unpackuncaseundo

antonym(s) of “remove from a box”

Opposite
packbox up

More synonyms by meaning

verbremove from a box

Opposite
box
Broader
unpacktake out

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
  3. Proto-Germanic*anda-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*anda-
  5. Old Englishand-
  6. Old Englishon-
  7. Middle Englishon-
  8. Englishun-
  9. Ancient Greekπῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos)
  10. Ancient Greekπυξίς (puxís)
  11. Late Latinbuxis
  12. Proto-West Germanic*buhsā
  13. Old Englishbox
  14. Middle Englishbox
  15. Englishbox
  16. Englishunbox

From un- + box.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech rozbalit, vybalit
  • rozbalitto remove from a box
  • vybalitto remove from a box
Danish pakke ud
  • pakke udto remove from a box
German (aus einem Karton) auspacken
  • (aus einem Karton) auspackento remove from a box
Slovak rozbaliť, vybaliť
  • rozbaliťto remove from a box
  • vybaliťto remove from a box
Spanish desembalar, desempacar
  • desembalarto remove from a box
  • desempacarto remove from a box
  • desempaquetarto remove from a box
Cite this entry
APA

unbox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbox

MLA

“unbox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbox. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unbox,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbox.

Source: unbox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.