BOX


Meaning of BOX in English

box 1

— boxlike , adj.

/boks/ , n.

1. a container, case, or receptacle, usually rectangular, of wood, metal, cardboard, etc., and often with a lid or removable cover.

2. the quantity contained in a box: She bought a box of candy as a gift.

3. Chiefly Brit. a gift or present: a Christmas box.

4. See post-office box .

5. a compartment or section in a public place, shut or railed off for the accommodation of a small number of people, esp. in a theater, opera house, sports stadium, etc.

6. a small enclosure or area in a courtroom, for witnesses or the jury.

7. a small shelter: a sentry's box.

8. Brit.

a. a small house, cabin, or cottage, as for use while hunting: a shooting box.

b. a telephone booth.

c. a wardrobe trunk.

9. See box stall .

10. the driver's seat on a coach.

11. the section of a wagon in which passengers or parcels are carried.

12. Auto. the section of a truck in which cargo is carried.

13. the box , Informal. television: Are there any good shows on the box tonight?

14. part of a page of a newspaper or periodical set off in some manner, as by lines, a border, or white space.

15. any enclosing, protective case or housing, sometimes including its contents: a gear box; a fire-alarm box.

16. Baseball.

a. either of two marked spaces, one on each side of the plate, in which the batter stands.

b. either of two marked spaces, one outside of first base and the other outside of third, where the coaches stand.

c. the pitcher's mound.

d. the marked space where the catcher stands.

17. a difficult situation; predicament.

18. Agric. a bowl or pit cut in the side of a tree for collecting sap.

19. Jazz Slang.

a. a stringed instrument, as a guitar.

b. a piano.

20. Informal.

a. a phonograph.

b. a boom box.

c. a computer.

21. Slang. a coffin.

22. Slang ( vulgar ).

a. the vulva or vagina.

b. basket (def. 9).

23. out of the box , Australian Slang. remarkable or exceptional; extraordinary.

v.t.

24. to put into a box: She boxed the glassware before the movers came.

25. to enclose or confine as in a box (often fol. by in or up ).

26. to furnish with a box.

27. to form into a box or the shape of a box.

28. to block so as to keep from passing or achieving better position (often fol. by in ): The Ferrari was boxed in by two other cars on the tenth lap.

29. to group together for consideration as one unit: to box bills in the legislature.

30. Building Trades. to enclose or conceal (a building or structure) as with boarding.

31. Agric. to make a hole or cut in (a tree) for sap to collect.

32. to mix (paint, varnish, or the like) by pouring from one container to another and back again.

33. Australian.

a. to mix groups of sheep that should be kept separated.

b. to confuse someone or something.

34. box out , Basketball. to position oneself between an opposing player and the basket to hinder the opposing player from rebounding or tipping in a shot; block out.

[ bef. 1000; ME, OE, prob. buxis, a reshaping of L pyxis; see BOÎTE ]

box 2

/boks/ , n.

1. a blow, as with the hand or fist: He gave the boy a box on his ear.

v.t.

2. to strike with the hand or fist, esp. on the ear.

3. to fight against (someone) in a boxing match.

v.i.

4. to fight with the fists; participate in a boxing match; spar.

5. to be a professional or experienced prizefighter or boxer: He has boxed since he was 16.

[ 1300-50; ME box a blow, boxen to beat, of uncert. orig. ]

box 3

/boks/ , n.

1. an evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Buxus, esp. B. sempervirens, having shiny, elliptic, dark-green leaves, used for ornamental borders, hedges, etc., and yielding a hard, durable wood.

2. the wood itself. Cf. boxwood (defs. 1, 2).

3. any of various other shrubs or trees, esp. species of eucalyptus.

[ bef. 950; ME, OE buxus boxwood pýxos ]

box 4

/boks/ , v.t.

1. Naut. to boxhaul (often fol. by off ).

2. Meteorol. to fly around the center of a storm in a boxlike pattern in order to gather meteorological data: to box a storm.

3. box the compass , Naut. to recite all of the points of the compass in a clockwise order.

[ 1745-55; prob. bojar to sail around, earlier boxar, perh. vogir to (cause to) turn volvere (see REVOLVE); influenced by BOX 1 ]

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .