The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
A receptacle or case of any firm material and of various shapes.
The quantity that a box contain.
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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. -
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. -
A small country house. ``A shooting box.''
--Wilson.Tight boxes neatly sashed.
--Cowper. A boxlike shed for shelter; as, a sentry box.
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(Mach)
An axle box, journal box, journal bearing, or bushing.
A chamber or section of tube in which a valve works; the bucket of a lifting pump.
The driver's seat on a carriage or coach.
A present in a box; a present; esp. a Christmas box or gift. ``A Christmas box.''
--Dickens.(Baseball) The square in which the pitcher stands.
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(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)