shoebox

noun

shoe·​box ˈshü-ˌbäks How to pronounce shoebox (audio)
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 noun
a shoebox apartment
Since commercial real estate was cheaper, art galleries and Off Off Off Broadway theaters could spring up in shoebox storefronts.James Wolcott

Examples of shoebox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The Phoenician Scheme repeats that shoebox imagery. David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 June 2025 Their identities all are contained in a set of shoeboxes, each with a particular specialty. Pete Hammond, Deadline, 18 May 2025 Anderson discloses here that his wife went through a similar situation; her father looping her in on his master shoebox plan before his death. Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 21 May 2025 Since its inception in 1993, Operation Christmas Child has distributed over 220 million shoeboxes across more than 170 countries and territories. Jasmine Baehr, Fox News, 20 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for shoebox

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shoebox was in 1838

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Cite this Entry

“Shoebox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoebox. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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