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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The office of the Hudson Post-Gazette is a shoebox of a building that has the 1950s stamped all over it, from the retro lettering of its sign above the front door to the tan brick walls favored at the time it was built. John Carlisle, Detroit Free Press, 13 Jan. 2025 Since then, the commercial space sector has exploded, with thousands of satellites launched every year—most no larger than a small desk, many the size of a shoebox. Charles Beames, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025 To avoid creating a shoebox feeling in these mini rooms, windows or transparent elements assure that every space receives natural light. Katharina Schwarze, Architectural Digest, 7 Jan. 2025 One year at Christmas, Valerie and her mom came to our door with a shoebox. Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Dec. 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

Dictionary Entries Near shoebox

Cite this Entry

“Shoebox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoebox. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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