box in

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 in

We were boxed in and couldn't get out of our parking space.

—sometimes used figuratively

I feel boxed in by all these rules.

Examples of box in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her office is now rushing to double the number of secure ballot drop boxes in the county from five to 10. — ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Most of them will be the hard copy documents found in 68 boxes in the city’s Department of Environmental Protection that were discovered as the city battled 9/11 Health Watch’s lawsuit. — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 8 Sep. 2026

At that time, girls and women were not allowed to box in Ireland (or many other countries). — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Six states – Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming – are not explicit about drop boxes in statute and have some jurisdictions that use them. — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for box in

• coxon
• oxen
• tocsin
• toxin
• aflatoxin
• antitoxin
• digitoxin
• endotoxin
• exotoxin
• ferredoxin
• mycotoxin
• neurotoxin