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)
  Coup·ling n.
  1. The act of bringing or coming together; connection; sexual union.
  2. Mach. A device or contrivance which serves to couple or connect adjacent parts or objects; as, a belt coupling, which connects the ends of a belt; a car coupling, which connects the cars in a train; a shaft coupling, which connects the ends of shafts.
  Box coupling, Chain coupling. See under Box, Chain.
  Coupling box, a coupling shaped like a journal box, for clamping together the ends of two shafts, so that they may revolve together.
  Coupling pin, a pin or bolt used in coupling or joining together railroad cars, etc.
  ◄ ►