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Glite Dictionary
📦 A cardboard box 🥛 A container amount
carton

carton

20 1.0
The usual amount of food or drink in one cardboard box, like milk
  • noun
  • /ˈkɑrtən/
: cartón
  • I bought a carton of milk to use in my cereal this morning.
  • milk carton
  • egg carton
  • juice carton

And if the price of, say, a carton of eggs or house or milk in the supermarket goes up, then it is those things that have changed.

Examples

  • With her other hand, she grabs a carton of low-fat milk.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The players were sharing a carton of Tropicana orange juice.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • So at night I take out my carton of milk.

    Red Lights (2012)

  • I made a trip to the grocery store and bought a whole carton of eggs.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Hey, you got two milk cartons under that table.

    Walkout (2006)

  • $12 for a carton of orange juice, this is everyday life in Nunavut.

    The Last Ice (2020)

  • Why don't you run across the street to 7-Eleven and pick up a couple of cartons, okay?

    The Best Laid Plans (2019)

  • There were at least twenty-five pills inside the carton, all different shapes and colors, even a few I didn't recognize.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • She opened a carton of fresh orange juice for breakfast.

  • He decided to bring a carton of eggs for the picnic.

Synonyms

box
vscarton
∞ 1.0

A usually rectangular container with a lid for holding things or the amount it holds

is the quantity term focusing on package capacity not the object itself
bag
vscarton
259 1.0

The amount of something in one package used for selling or carrying it

is focused on a rigid package capacity rather than a soft pouch measurement
crate
vscarton
180 1.7

A strong wooden box for storing or moving things and the amount inside it

is the quantity concept tied to smaller, packable packages rather than heavy wooden boxes
cartload
vscarton
  • Informal
2 3.5

An amount that fills a cart, often meaning a very large quantity

is the small package quantity, not a very large informal load
trunkful
vscarton
  • US
2 4.4

An amount that fills a large suitcase or a car's storage space

is the standard small package amount, not a large luggage compartment fill
boxful
vscarton
2 1.9

An amount that fills a box

is the amount term tied to a particular package type rather than cases
cartful
vscarton
1 3.0

A full load that fills a cart

is used for a single small package amount not large vehicle loads
crateful
vscarton
1 6.4

An amount that fits in a crate

is the standard amount for a smaller cardboard package rather than large wooden containers
containerful
vscarton
1 3.7

The amount that fills a container

is limited to a specific package type rather than any storage unit
cartonful
vscarton
2.4

An amount that fills a carton like a milk box

is the common term for that standard package amount

How Much

pallet
23 3.4
crate
180 1.7
carton
20 1.0
box
∞ 1.0
pack
466 1.0
single piece
12 3.3

Surface Forms

carton singular
cartons plural

Etymology

Carton comes from the same old word for 'paper' or 'card', and because it named the container people also used it for the amount inside. So a carton often means the usual quantity a box holds, as in 'a carton of milk'.