Meanings
unboxing1
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of unbox
unboxing2
plural unboxings
- countableuncountableThe removal of something from its box; an unpacking.
The most popular unboxings are for expensive gadgets, like the iPhone, Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
2014 February 13, Heather Kelly, “The bizarre, lucrative world of ‘unboxing’ videos”, in CNN1 more example
Clips of tech-fiends unwrapping new models of cell phones first began turning up on the Internet about a decade ago. Since then, an entire world has blossomed around the unboxing video, with whole YouTube channels dedicated to the unpackaging of dolls, purses, moisturizers, even food.
2014 December 16, Alex Frank, “Happy Unboxing Day! A Small Guide to the Very Large World of Unboxing Videos”, in Vogue - countableuncountableobject-oriented programmingAutomatic conversion of objects back to value types.
Autoboxing and unboxing are typically used for collections of primitives. […] Unboxing involves the production of a primitive for each object.
2014, Robert Liguori, Patricia Liguori, Java 8 Pocket Guide, O'Reilly, →ISBN, page 28Antonyms: boxing, autoboxing
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAutomatic conversion of objects back to value types.
Origin
unboxing · verb
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Full word history & related roots →unboxing · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
- Proto-Germanic*anda-
- Proto-West Germanic*anda-
- Old Englishand-
- Old Englishon-
- Middle Englishon-
- Englishun-
- Ancient Greekπῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos)
- Ancient Greekπυξίς (puxís)
- Late Latinbuxis
- Proto-West Germanic*buhsā
- Old Englishbox
- Middle Englishbox
- Englishbox
- Englishunbox
- Englishunboxing
From unbox + -ing (gerundive ending).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish purkaminen, purkaminen laatikosta
- purkaminenremoval of something from its box
- purkaminen laatikostaremoval of something from its box
- purkaminen rasiastaremoval of something from its box
- kuorintaautomatic conversion of objects back to value types
French déballage, unboxing
- déballageremoval of something from its box
- unboxingautomatic conversion of objects back to value types
German Auspacken
- Auspackenremoval of something from its box
Greek αποσυσκευασία
- αποσυσκευασία (aposyskevasía)removal of something from its box
Russian распако́вка
- распако́вка (raspakóvka)removal of something from its box
Spanish desembalaje, desempaquetado
- desembalajeremoval of something from its box
- desempaquetadoremoval of something from its box
- desempaqueremoval of something from its box
- unboxingautomatic conversion of objects back to value types
Ukrainian розпакува́ння
- розпакува́ння (rozpakuvánnja)removal of something from its box
Cite this entry
unboxing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unboxing
“unboxing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unboxing. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unboxing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unboxing.
Source: unboxing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.