penalty box
6
3.3
- noun
- /ˈpɛnəlti bɑks/
- US
:
penalización
- Ty Domi, a fully despised player by the Philadelphia fan base, was put into the penalty box for attempting to fight Luke Richardson of the Flyers.
- minutes in the penalty box
- sit in the penalty box
Examples
-
At one point, there were six UMD players in the penalty box.
Blog text (31) -
Sophomore midfielder Matt Sheeleigh crossed the ball from the edge of the penalty box to Freeman, who curved a shot into the corner of the goal.
Blog text (23) -
Enjoy your time in the penalty box.
-
Right in front of the penalty box.
Fiction book (2000) -
Go to the penalty box and wait.
Blog text (16) -
He put him in the penalty box.
-
When does the NHL address the fact that its officials sent the wrong Hawk to the penalty box again?
Blog text (26) -
After committing a foul, the player was sent to the penalty box for two minutes.
-
During the game, the referee sent two players to the penalty box for roughing.
-
The coach explained that sitting in the penalty box is part of the game's rules after a penalty is called.
Synonyms
1
8.1
A small area where a player must wait as a penalty in sports like rugby or hockey
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun combines 'penalty' (a sanction for a rule violation) with 'box' (an enclosed area), so a learner can infer it refers to an enclosed area associated with penalties — i.e., where penalized players sit. This is a straightforward compositional, sports-specific phrase found across languages and contexts, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents is likely to understand it.
Etymology
Penalty box comes from ice hockey, where a player who commits a penalty must sit inside a small box at the side of the rink while the time is counted. That's why it means 'the place where a player sits to serve time after a penalty'.