Skip to main content
window box

window box

4 2.9
A long narrow container for growing plants on a windowsill
  • noun
  • /ˈwɪndoʊ bɑks/
translation icon : caja de ventana
  • She loves to plant herbs in her window box to use while cooking.
  • window box with flowers
  • geraniums in the window box
  • filled window boxes

We've got the barn pots, the kitchen window box, it's rough.

Examples

  • A breeze carried the scent of mint from Magda's window box.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The patio has white tables and chairs and is framed in window boxes.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • And then the window box on the bathroom window.

  • I moved over to the window box on the rail of the deck.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I cannot wait to put them into the window boxes on the garage!

    Blog text (12)
  • The window boxes in the corner will need attention again, but for now let's leave them.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • With the heat and drought of this summer, I'm amazed your window boxes did so well.

    Blog text (15)
  • In fact, you may end up mostly growing your purple carrots yourself in your window boxes.

    Blog text (4)
  • What's that vine-looking plant growing in the window box of the balcony?

    Blog text (23)
  • Sol was watering his window box when Andy came out, carefully irrigating the rows of herbs and tiny onions.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

flowerpot
vswindow box
6 1.0

A container often made of clay or plastic used to grow plants

is long, narrow and fixed to a sill rather than being portable

How Big

bed
118 1.0
window box
4 2.9
planter
12 1.8

Surface Forms

window box singular
window boxes plural

Morphology

window + box

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'window' (an opening in a wall) and 'box' (a container): it denotes a container associated with a window used for plants. This straightforward noun-compounding pattern is common in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Window box comes from the simple image of a long box fixed under a window and filled with flowers or herbs. So the phrase now means 'a narrow container for growing plants on a windowsill'.