[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/box.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / box

[← B](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/B/)

# box

«box» in Mova's school dictionary: **a container with flat sides, often with a lid** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m1)

2) A box is the amount a box holds: a box of crayons. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m2)

3) A box is a square drawn on paper to write in: tick the box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m3)

4) To box is to fight with the fists in a sport, or to put into boxes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m4)

5) (casual, UK) «The box» means the television: what's on the box? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m5)

6) (casual) «Think outside the box» means think in a new way; «tick all the boxes» means be just right. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m6)

7) (rough) «Box someone's ears» means hit them on the head (old use); «boxed in» means trapped. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m7)

8) (formal) The exam voice says «container», «carton», «crate», «receptacle», «cuboid». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#m8)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x1)
- Max splits 24 stamps equally into 4 boxes. How many stamps go in each box? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x2)
- There are 3 pens on the table and 4 in the box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x3)
- Put your toys back in the toy box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x4)
- Tick the box next to the right answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x5)
- We packed our books into boxes when we moved. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x6)
- A box of chocolates has 20 pieces. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x7)
- The cat loves to sit in an empty box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x8)
- anything good on the box tonight? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x9)
- crap, dropped the box, 3 eggs smashed [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x10)
- That idea ticks all the boxes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x11)
- A consignment of 5 cartons, each containing 6 marbles, is delivered; compute the aggregate number of marbles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x12)
- Labakan rose and looked at the boxes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/#x13)

### 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.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/20-the-doctor-and-the-chemist/21/)
- [Picture a small church in Wellington: at the front stands a long wooden box covered in flowers, the coffin.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/25-funerals-and-remembering/2/)
- [Vivid example: in Leeds, Charlie points at a film box in the supermarket.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/57-age-ratings-and-why-they-exist/4/)
- [Checking the rating on a box, a poster or a streaming page before pressing play prevents many accidents.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/60-next-time-switch-off-tell-and-parental-controls/18/)
- [Small pieces are a choking danger for babies and toddlers, which is why boxes warn about children under three.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/32-lego-builds-instructions-vs-your-own-ideas/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «box» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/box/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.