Box, n.; pl. Boxes
1. A receptacle or case of any firm material and of various shapes.
2. The quantity that a box contain.
3. A space with a few seats partitioned off in a theater, or other place of public amusement.
Laughed at by the pit, box, galleries, nay, stage. --Dorset.
The boxes and the pit are sovereign judges. --Dryden.
4. A chest or any receptacle for the deposit of money; as, a poor box; a contribution box.
Yet since his neighbors give, the churl unlocks,
Damning the poor, his tripple-bolted box. --J. Warton.
5. A small country house. “A shooting box.”
Tight boxes neatly sashed. --Cowper.
6. A boxlike shed for shelter; as, a sentry box.
7. Mach (a) An axle box, journal box, journal bearing, or bushing. (b) A chamber or section of tube in which a valve works; the bucket of a lifting pump.
8. The driver's seat on a carriage or coach.
9. A present in a box; a present; esp. a Christmas box or gift. “A Christmas box.”
10. Baseball The square in which the pitcher stands.
11. Zool. A Mediterranean food fish; the bogue.
Note: ☞ Box is much used adjectively or in composition; as box lid, box maker, box circle, etc.; also with modifying substantives; as money box, letter box, bandbox, hatbox or hat box, snuff box or snuffbox.
Box beam Arch., a beam made of metal plates so as to have the form of a long box.
Box car Railroads, a freight car covered with a roof and inclosed on the sides to protect its contents.
Box chronometer, a ship's chronometer, mounted in gimbals, to preserve its proper position.
Box coat, a thick overcoat for driving; sometimes with a heavy cape to carry off the rain.
Box coupling, a metal collar uniting the ends of shafts or other parts in machinery.
Box crab Zool., a crab of the genus Calappa, which, when at rest with the legs retracted, resembles a box.
Box drain Arch., a drain constructed with upright sides, and with flat top and bottom.
Box girder Arch., a box beam.
Box groove Metal Working, a closed groove between two rolls, formed by a collar on one roll fitting between collars on another. --R. W. Raymond.
Box metal, an alloy of copper and tin, or of zinc, lead, and antimony, for the bearings of journals, etc.
Box plait, a plait that doubles both to the right and the left.
Box turtle or Box tortoise Zool., a land tortoise or turtle of the genera Cistudo and Emys; -- so named because it can withdraw entirely within its shell, which can be closed by hinged joints in the lower shell. Also, humorously, an exceedingly reticent person. --Emerson.
In a box, in a perplexity or an embarrassing position; in difficulty. (Colloq.)
In the wrong box, out of one's place; out of one's element; awkwardly situated. (Colloq.) --Ridley (1554)
box coat
n : a short coat that hangs loosely from the shoulders