black box
26
4.9
- noun
- /blæk bɑks/
- Specialized
:
caja negra
- The investigators retrieved the black box from the wreckage to analyze the flight data.
- black box recorder
- recovered the black box
- black box data
Examining the black box to see, you know, how the the plane went down.
- Examining the black box to see, you know, how the the plane went down.
Examples
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I will be very impressed if, within the 30-day period that the black boxes send out pings, the military can locate and recover them.
Blog text (1) -
The black box in aircraft already has a pinger in it that allows for the location of the device. Now then, enhance the design so that the data can be downloaded acoustically when the box is interrogated.
Blog text (1) -
Think of the the black box in the plane.
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It's recorded directly to the black box.
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The black box from the train will determine its speed at the time of impact.
Blog text (14) -
Commercial aircraft carry two black boxes.
Blog text (27) -
I heard the black box recordings last night.
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One of the two Air France black boxes recovered.
Blog text (23) -
This black box can be installed on fishing boats to continuously monitor and track vessels and provide opportunities to improve compliance with fisheries regulations.
Academic text (2017) -
After the plane crash, officials quickly located the black box to understand what went wrong.
Synonyms
177
2.6
A device that saves sound or images for later playback
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a system whose internal workings are hidden' is a metaphorical extension of the literal words: 'black' (dark/opaque/hidden) + 'box' (container), so the idea of an unseen interior is inferable. Because this relies on a conventional metaphor (and is commonly used in technical contexts and across many languages), learners can often guess the sense but may still need exposure to the specialized usage.
Etymology
Black box for aircraft recorders may come from early devices being kept in a dark, sealed metal container, a literal black box that held voice and flight data. That clear image of a sealed box that keeps the last moments of a flight helps explain why investigators recover the black box to learn what happened after a crash.