What is "box beam"

Box \Box\, n.; pl. Boxes [As. box a small case or vessel with a cover; akin to OHG. buhsa box, G. b["u]chse; fr. L. buxus boxwood, anything made of boxwood. See Pyx, and cf. Box a tree, Bushel.]

1. A receptacle or case of any firm material and of various shapes.

2. The quantity that a box contain.

3. A space with a few seats partitioned off in a theater, or other place of public amusement.

   Laughed at by the pit, box, galleries, nay, stage.
   --Dorset.

   The boxes and the pit are sovereign judges.
   --Dryden.

4. A chest or any receptacle for the deposit of money; as, a poor box; a contribution box.

   Yet since his neighbors give, the churl unlocks, Damning the poor, his tripple-bolted box.
   --J. Warton.

5. A small country house. ``A shooting box.''
   --Wilson.

   Tight boxes neatly sashed.
   --Cowper.

6. A boxlike shed for shelter; as, a sentry box.

7. (Mach)

   1. An axle box, journal box, journal bearing, or bushing.

   2. A chamber or section of tube in which a valve works; the bucket of a lifting pump.

8. The driver's seat on a carriage or coach.

9. A present in a box; a present; esp. a Christmas box or gift. ``A Christmas box.''
   --Dickens.

10. (Baseball) The square in which the pitcher stands.

11. (Zo["o]l.) A Mediterranean food fish; the bogue.

    Note: Box is much used adjectively or in composition; as box lid, box maker, box circle, etc.; also with modifying substantives; as money box, letter box, bandbox, hatbox or hat box, snuff box or snuffbox.

    Box beam (Arch.), a beam made of metal plates so as to have the form of a long box.

    Box car (Railroads), a freight car covered with a roof and inclosed on the sides to protect its contents.

    Box chronometer, a ship's chronometer, mounted in gimbals, to preserve its proper position.

    Box coat, a thick overcoat for driving; sometimes with a heavy cape to carry off the rain.

    Box coupling, a metal collar uniting the ends of shafts or other parts in machinery.

    Box crab (Zo["o]l.), a crab of the genus Calappa, which, when at rest with the legs retracted, resembles a box.

    Box drain (Arch.), a drain constructed with upright sides, and with flat top and bottom.

    Box girder (Arch.), a box beam.

    Box groove (Metal Working), a closed groove between two rolls, formed by a collar on one roll fitting between collars on another.
    --R. W. Raymond.

    Box metal, an alloy of copper and tin, or of zinc, lead, and antimony, for the bearings of journals, etc.

    Box plait, a plait that doubles both to the right and the left.

    Box turtle or

    Box tortoise (Zo["o]l.), a land tortoise or turtle of the genera Cistudo and Emys; -- so named because it can withdraw entirely within its shell, which can be closed by hinged joints in the lower shell. Also, humorously, an exceedingly reticent person.
    --Emerson.

    In a box, in a perplexity or an embarrassing position; in difficulty. (Colloq.)

    In the wrong box, out of one's place; out of one's element; awkwardly situated. (Colloq.)
    --Ridley (1554)

n. a beam built up from boards; has a hollow rectangular cross section [syn: box girder]