- box
- noun1 containerADJECTIVE▪ rectangular, square▪ upturned (esp. BrE)▪
They were sitting around the fire on upturned boxes.
▪ empty▪ cardboard, metal, plastic, wooden, etc.▪ storage▪ cereal, chocolate, cigar, egg (BrE) (egg carton in AmE), pizza▪ jewel, jewellery/jewelry, shoe, tool (usually toolbox)▪ CD, DVD▪ gift▪ lunch, sandwich (BrE)▪ first-aid▪ safe deposit, safety deposit, security▪There is a safety deposit box in every room of the hotel.
▪ cash, money (esp. BrE)▪The cash box was kept in a safe.
▪She opened her money box to see if she had saved enough for a tennis racket.
▪ collection, donation▪The exhibition is free, but there is a collection box for donations.
▪ ballot▪ letter (BrE), mail (usually mailbox) (AmE)▪ nest, nesting… OF BOXES▪ pile, stackVERB + BOX▪ fill, pack▪She filled the box with old clothes.
▪ pack sth in, pack sth into, put sth away in, put sth in, put sth into, store sth in▪We packed all the books into boxes.
▪ remove sth from, take sth out of▪ empty, unpack▪ open▪ close, shut▪ lock▪ place, stackBOX + VERB▪ be filled with sth, be full of sth, contain sth, hold sth▪This box holds ten 10 candles and costs $21.40.
▪ be labelled/labeled sth, be marked sth▪a box marked ‘fragile’
▪ be covered in sth, be covered with sth, be lined with sth▪The dog sleeps in a box lined with an old blanket.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the box, inside a/the box▪ into a/the box▪ out of a/the box▪ box of▪a box of chocolates
PHRASES▪ the lid of a box2 enclosed areaADJECTIVE▪ soundproof▪ call, phone, telephone (all BrE)▪ jury, witness▪ commentary (BrE), press▪There was a babble of languages in the commentary box when the race began.
▪ director's, executive, hospitality (all BrE)▪They drank champagne as they watched the game from the executive box.
▪ private, royal▪a private box at the opera
▪ signal (BrE)▪ horse (usually horsebox) (BrE)▪The car in front was pulling a horsebox.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the box, into a/the box3 square on a form/screenADJECTIVE▪ appropriate, relevant (esp. BrE)▪Tick the appropriate box below.
▪ dialog▪Click on ‘open file’ in the dialog box.
▪ check, tick (BrE) (usually checkbox, tickbox)VERB + BOX▪ check (esp. AmE), fill in, mark (esp. AmE), put sth in, tick (BrE), write (sth) in▪Put a cross in the box if you agree with the comments.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the box, into a/the boxPHRASES▪ tick all the boxes (= do exactly the right things to please sb) (BrE, informal)▪The house we would like to buy ticks all the boxes.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
