Search results for 'box':

box¹ noun (boxes) 1 a container made from wood, cardboard or plastic, etc, usually square or rectangular and with a lid. 2 a boxful. 3 a in compounds a small enclosed area, shelter or kiosk, etc for a specified purpose • telephone box • sentry box • witness box; b in a theatre, etc: a separate compartment for a group of people, containing several seats; c (often horse-box) an enclosed area for a horse in a stable or vehicle. 4 an area in a field, pitch, road, printed page, etc marked out by straight lines. 5 (the box) Brit colloq a) the television; b) football the penalty box. 6 an individually allocated pigeonhole or similar container at a newspaper office or other agency, in which mail is collected to be sent on to, or collected by, the person it is intended for • Reply to box number 318. See also PO box. 7 often in compounds a case or housing for protecting machinery, etc • gearbox. 8 cricket, etc a lightweight padded shield to protect the genitals. 9 a gift of money given to tradesmen and (formerly) servants • a Christmas box. 10 a small country house or lodge, used as a base for some sports, eg a shooting-box. 11 a raised seat for the driver on a carriage. verb (boxes, boxed, boxing) 1 (also box something up) to put it into a box or boxes 2 (especially box someone or something in or up to stop them or it from moving about; to confine or enclose them or it. 3 (also box something up) Austral, NZ a to mix up (different flocks of sheep) accidentally; b colloq to make a mess or muddle of it. 4 (also box something up) to fit or provide it with a box or boxes. boxed adj contained in or provided with a box. boxlike adj. box the compass naut to name all the 32 points of the compass in their correct order.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon: from Latin buxis, from Greek pyxis.

box² verb (boxes, boxed, boxing) 1 tr & intr to fight with the hands formed into fists and protected by thick leather gloves, especially as a sport. 2 colloq to hit (especially someone's ears) with the fist, or sometimes the hand. noun (boxes) colloq (usually a box on the ears) a punch with the fist, or sometimes a cuff or slap, especially on the ears. box clever colloq to act in a clever or cunning way; to be smart.
ETYMOLOGY: 16c as verb; 14c, meaning 'a blow'.

box³ noun (boxes) 1 (also boxtree) an evergreen shrub or small tree with small leathery paired leaves, glossy green above and paler underneath, and tiny green flowers lacking petals, widely used in formal gardens as a hedging plant, and for topiary. 2 (also boxwood) the hard durable fine-grained yellow wood of this tree, used eg for fine carving and inlay work.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon: from Latin buxus, from Greek pyxos.