shoebox
noun
shoe·box
ˈshü-ˌbäks 
variants
or less commonly shoe box
1
: a box that shoes are sold in
a shoebox full of old photographs
2
: a small space and especially a small living space
The loft, almost an hour from her house by tube, is a shoebox with 18-foot ceilings, white and blue, with odds and ends of mismatched furniture …—
Michael Kimmelman
—often used before another nounMichael Kimmelmana shoebox apartment
Since commercial real estate was cheaper, art galleries and Off Off Off Broadway theaters could spring up in shoebox storefronts.—James Wolcott
James WolcottExamples of shoebox in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The footprint is compact for a four-bay model, to be sure; most such designs are lying-down shoeboxes.
—
John R. Delaney,
PC Magazine,
1 July 2026
Here, three organizers share five creative, practical ways to reuse shoeboxes to increase your home's storage capabilities.
—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
22 June 2026
The feeling, somewhere between limerence and infatuation, hit me like a shoebox precariously shelved too high.
—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
16 June 2026
Teens, tweens, and shoebox-sized apartment dwellers alike can welcome this upholstered bed frame into their space.
—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoebox
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John R. Delaney,
PC Magazine,
1 July 2026
Here, three organizers share five creative, practical ways to reuse shoeboxes to increase your home's storage capabilities.
—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
22 June 2026
The feeling, somewhere between limerence and infatuation, hit me like a shoebox precariously shelved too high.
—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
16 June 2026
Teens, tweens, and shoebox-sized apartment dwellers alike can welcome this upholstered bed frame into their space.
—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoebox
Cite this Entry
“Shoebox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoebox. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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