box in
phrasal verb
boxed in; boxing in; boxes in
: to surround (someone or something) and make movement difficult
The other bicyclists boxed her in and she couldn't move ahead.
—usually used as (be) boxed inWe were boxed in and couldn't get out of our parking space.
—sometimes used figurativelyI feel boxed in by all these rules.
Examples of box in in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Often, one of the pair is more offensive or box-to-box in their profile, with the other being more of a traditional, defensive-minded midfielder whose strengths are to break up opposition attacks.
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Mark Carey, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
In response, two other law enforcement vehicles went to block Parias’ vehicle, leaving him boxed in, according to prosecutors.
—Julia Marnin, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Federal agents surrounded and boxed in someone in a vehicle.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
He had been assigned the last car in a row of six, each manned by a colored youth standing inside his metal box in a red uniform, operating the lever that sent the car up from the basement grill to the roof-garden restaurant on the fifteenth floor and then back down again all day.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for box in
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Mark Carey, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
In response, two other law enforcement vehicles went to block Parias’ vehicle, leaving him boxed in, according to prosecutors.
—Julia Marnin, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Federal agents surrounded and boxed in someone in a vehicle.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
He had been assigned the last car in a row of six, each manned by a colored youth standing inside his metal box in a red uniform, operating the lever that sent the car up from the basement grill to the roof-garden restaurant on the fifteenth floor and then back down again all day.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for box in
Cite this Entry
“Box in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/box%20in. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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