box
noun /bɒks/
/bɑːks/
Idioms - enlarge image
- in a box Everything we owned was neatly packed in cardboard boxes.
- She kept all the letters in a box.
- inside a box Do you know what is inside the box?
- She opened her money box to see if she had saved enough for a tennis racket.
- a toolbox
- a matchbox
Extra Examples- She filled the box with old clothes.
- The dog sleeps in a box lined with an old blanket.
- The exhibition is free, but there is a collection box for donations.
- They were sitting around the fire on upturned boxes.
- This box holds ten candles and costs $21.40.
- We packed all the books into boxes.
- a box marked ‘fragile’
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- rectangular
- square
- upturned
- …
- pile
- stack
- fill
- pack
- pack something in
- …
- be filled with something
- be full of something
- contain something
- …
- in a/the box
- inside a/the box
- into a/the box
- …
- the lid of a box
- a box of chocolates/cereal/tissues
- He produced a box of matches from his pocket.
- People buy low-fat cookies and then eat the whole box.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- rectangular
- square
- upturned
- …
- pile
- stack
- fill
- pack
- pack something in
- …
- be filled with something
- be full of something
- contain something
- …
- in a/the box
- inside a/the box
- into a/the box
- …
- the lid of a box
- Put a cross in the appropriate box.
- (British English) to tick a box
- (North American English) to check a box
- Type your query in the search box.
- There are over 300 special note boxes in the dictionary.
Extra Examples- Put a cross in the box if you agree with the comments.
- Tick the appropriate box below.
- The basic search screen includes two text boxes for words to be searched.
- A box pops up on the monitor providing a customer profile.
- Please offer your own ideas in the comment box at the end of this blog.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- appropriate
- relevant
- dialog
- …
- check
- fill in
- mark
- …
- in a/the box
- into a/the box
- tick all the boxes
- [countable] a small area in a theatre, court or sports stadium, separated off from where other people sit
- The painting depicts two elegantly dressed women in a box at the opera.
- The judge addressed the 12 people seated in the jury box.
- They drank champagne as they watched the game from the executive box.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- soundproof
- call
- phone
- …
- in a/the box
- into a/the box
- [countable] a small shelter used for a particular purpose
- a sentry/signal box
- (British English, old-fashioned) a telephone box
- I called him from the phone box on the corner.
- There was a babble of languages in the commentary box when the race began.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- soundproof
- call
- phone
- …
- in a/the box
- into a/the box
- the box[singular] (especially British English, old-fashioned, informal) the television
- on the box What's on the box tonight?
- [countable] (British English) (also box junction)a place where two roads cross or join, marked with a pattern of yellow lines to show that vehicles must not stop in that area
- Only traffic turning right may enter the box.
- [countable] an area on a sports field that is marked by lines and used for a particular purpose
- (British English) He was fouled in the box (= the penalty box).
- [countable] (also box number)a number used as an address, especially one given in newspaper advertisements to which replies can be sent see also PO box
- [countable] (British English) a piece of plastic that a man wears over his sex organs to protect them while he is playing a sport, especially cricket compare cup (10)Topics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
- [countable, uncountable] a small evergreen tree or bush with thick dark leaves, used especially for garden hedges
- (also boxwood)[uncountable] the hard wood of the box tree
container
shape
in theatre/court
shelter
television
on road
in sport
for mail
protection
tree/wood
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 10 late Old English, probably from late Latin buxis, from Latin pyxis ‘boxwood box’, from Greek puxos. noun senses 11 to 12 Old English, via Latin from Greek puxos.
Idioms
a bag/box of tricks
- (informal) a set of methods or equipment that somebody can use
- Hotel managers are using a whole new bag of tricks to attract their guests.
give somebody a box on the ears
- (also box somebody's ears)(old-fashioned) to hit somebody with your hand on the side of their head as a punishment
think out of the box
- to think about something, or how to do something, in a way that is new, different or shows imagination
tick all the/somebody’s boxes
- (British English, informal) to do exactly the right things to please somebody
- This is a movie that ticks all the boxes.
- The house we would like to buy ticks all our boxes.