box
part of speech
noun (box, boxes); verb (box, boxes, boxed, boxing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A box is a container with flat sides, often with a lid. tree →
2) A box is the amount a box holds: a box of crayons. tree →
3) A box is a square drawn on paper to write in: tick the box. tree →
4) To box is to fight with the fists in a sport, or to put into boxes. tree →
5) (casual, UK) «The box» means the television: what's on the box? tree →
6) (casual) «Think outside the box» means think in a new way; «tick all the boxes» means be just right. tree →
7) (rough) «Box someone's ears» means hit them on the head (old use); «boxed in» means trapped. tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice says «container», «carton», «crate», «receptacle», «cuboid». tree →
sense in the lessons
a container; one of several equal groups («5 boxes with 6 in each» = 5 × 6), or the boxes things are split into («equally into 4 boxes» = divide); on worksheets «write the answer in the box», «tick the box»; in everyday life lunch box, toy box, cardboard box, post box; in maths a cube or cuboid is a box shape; in casual talk «what's on the box», «outside the box»; in the exam voice «cartons», «crates», «a cuboid of dimensions …»
examples
- Lily has 5 boxes with 6 marbles in each box. How many marbles does Lily have? tree →
- Max splits 24 stamps equally into 4 boxes. How many stamps go in each box? tree →
- There are 3 pens on the table and 4 in the box. tree →
- Put your toys back in the toy box. tree →
- Tick the box next to the right answer. tree →
- We packed our books into boxes when we moved. tree →
- A box of chocolates has 20 pieces. tree →
- The cat loves to sit in an empty box. tree →
- anything good on the box tonight? tree →
- crap, dropped the box, 3 eggs smashed tree →
- That idea ticks all the boxes. tree →
- A consignment of 5 cartons, each containing 6 marbles, is delivered; compute the aggregate number of marbles. tree →
- Labakan rose and looked at the boxes. tree →
note
Plural «boxes» (add -es). A container is not a clue by itself. Trap: «N boxes with M in each box» = multiply; «splits … equally into N boxes» = divide; «on the table and in the box» = two parts to add. «dropped the box, 3 eggs smashed» means 3 fewer whole eggs: subtract. «the box» in UK casual talk can mean the TV. «carton» and «crate» in an exam are boxes too.
In the corpora
- A pill box with the days of the week helps someone see whether today's tablets have been taken and avoid a double dose.
- Picture a small church in Wellington: at the front stands a long wooden box covered in flowers, the coffin.
- Vivid example: in Leeds, Charlie points at a film box in the supermarket.
- Checking the rating on a box, a poster or a streaming page before pressing play prevents many accidents.
- Small pieces are a choking danger for babies and toddlers, which is why boxes warn about children under three.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «box» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.