cardboard box
37
1.0
- noun
- /ˈkɑrdˌbɔrd bɑks/
:
caja de cartón
- She packed her belongings carefully into a cardboard box for the move.
But we also carried things in cardboard boxes.
- But we also carried things in cardboard boxes.
- This comes in a plain cardboard box.
- I expect more than a cardboard box and a piece of paper and plastic.
- And then Google had that little cardboard box, it was Google Glass.
- Good morning from the house that is filled with cardboard boxes and stuff.
- But Tim came to Coconut Grove once, where he had a cardboard box full of LSD.
Examples
-
Someone had dumped them in a cardboard box next to the footpath.
Fiction book (1995) -
I can pick up some cardboard boxes on the way home today from the U-Haul.
-
Grace, why do the kids think that cardboard boxes are the most interesting things in the world?
-
I keep it in a cardboard box on the floor next to my desk.
Fiction book (1995) -
They take cardboard boxes and they build a castle.
-
The prosecutor brought a cardboard box and sat it in front of Lila.
Fiction book (1992) -
Martin stopped himself and went to his closet, bringing Hillie another white cardboard box of photos.
Fiction book (1990) -
In the spring, she generally had a cardboard box or two of cuttings or bare roots.
Fiction book (1990) -
Some days there were eleven or twelve cardboard boxes behind me, so I had to keep it manageable.
Academic text (2007) -
Marcy and I climb over the cardboard boxes filled with books and pretend we're climbing mountains.
Fiction book (1993)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A usually rectangular container with a lid for holding things or the amount it holds
245
1.3
A thing that holds or stores items, for example a box
58
1.0
A box made of cardboard with a top that opens for storing things
15
1.0
A rectangular cardboard container for holding shoes
11
1.0
A cardboard box that holds breakfast cereal
1
1.0
A large strong container used to hold things for moving or storage
1
2.3
A large strong box used to hold goods for storage or shipping
How Sturdy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cardboard' (a stiff paper-based material) with 'box' (a container): a box made of cardboard. This material + object compounding is a common, productive pattern in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The name cardboard box is literal: a box made from cardboard, a strong kind of paper used to pack and carry things, so it means 'a light, cheap container for storing or moving things'.