BOX (2)

box (2). Box, v.t. to put in a box, to strike with the fist

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Box, n.; pl. Boxes (�) [[As. box a small case or vessel with a cover; akin to OHG. buhsa box, G. büchse; fr. L. buxus boxwood, anything made of boxwood. See Pyx, and cf. Box a tree, Bushel.]] 1. 1. A receptacle or case of any firm material and of various shapes.
2. 2. The quantity that a box contain.
3. 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. 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. 5. A small country house. “A shooting box.” Wilson.
Tight boxes neatly sashed. Cowper. 6. 6. A boxlike shed for shelter; as, a sentry box.
7. 7. (Mach) (a) An axle box, journal box, journal bearing, or bushing. (b) A chamber or section of tube in which a valve works; the bucket of a lifting pump.
8. 8. The driver's seat on a carriage or coach.
9. 9. A present in a box; a present; esp. a Christmas box or gift. “A Christmas box.” Dickens.
10. 10. (Baseball) The square in which the pitcher stands.
11. 11. (Zoöl.) A Mediterranean food fish; the bogue.
☞ 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 (Zoöl.), 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 (Zoöl.), 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)