out-of-the-box thinking
1
4.6
- noun
- /aʊt əv ðə bɑks ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/
- Jargon
:
pensamiento creativo
- The team used out-of-the-box thinking to develop a unique approach to the challenging problem.
It's like out-of-the-box thinking helps brands love you more, helps people love you more.
- It's like out-of-the-box thinking helps brands love you more, helps people love you more.
Examples
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Employing out-of-the-box thinking in our marketing strategy helped us reach a broader audience.
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Just like the old taverns, cafes can be incubators for out-of-the-box thinking.
Blog text (9) -
Hey, I like this post; good out-of-the-box thinking; we should question everything.
Blog text (15) -
There is little out-of-the-box thinking these days.
Blog text (12) -
It's like out-of-the-box thinking helps brands love you more, helps people love you more.
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We have radical global environmental problems which demand radical, out-of-the-box thinking solutions.
Blog text (29) -
We'll have to wait and see what the details of Paul's plan actually are, but this is the type of out-of-the-box thinking that our side needs to do more of.
Blog text (15) -
Often in classrooms as early as third grade, students display a remarkable facility for out-of-the-box thinking—very much better, I might add, than their teachers who undertake the same challenge.
Academic text (2007) -
Out-of-the-box thinking can lead to innovative solutions that traditional methods might overlook.
Synonyms
37
4.5
In a creative way that does not follow normal rules
7
5.3
Thinking in a new, creative way not limited by usual methods
5
3.7
Thinking in new ways to make things or solve problems
1
4.4
To solve problems using new creative ideas
1
5.3
A way to solve problems by looking at them from new angles
1
6.7
Thinking of new ideas and using new ways to do things
1
6.4
A way to find new ideas that ignores practical limits
A way of thinking that comes up with many different ideas to solve a problem
A different, slightly strange way of doing something to get new ideas
Antonyms
How Creative
Surface Forms
Morphology
out-of-the-box + thinking
The phrase uses the literal elements 'out of the box' plus 'thinking' to create a metaphor—thinking outside a (mental) 'box' = beyond usual constraints—so the core idea is partially inferable from the constituents. However, the mapping from a physical 'box' to conventional or habitual ways of thinking is metaphorical and culturally conventionalized, so a B1 learner who knows the words may only partially infer the full meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Out-of-the-box thinking uses a simple picture: imagine a box around the usual ideas and someone stepping out of that box to try new directions. One popular story says it comes from a drawing puzzle where you must connect dots without staying inside the square, so the phrase now means 'thinking in a new or creative way'.