call box

noun

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Definition of call box

1 British : a public telephone booth

2 : a telephone usually located on the side of a road for reporting emergencies (such as fires or automobile breakdowns)

See call box defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of call box from the Web

To minimize risk, rail systems rely on backup mechanisms such as emergency call boxes, landlines and, in some cases, cellphones.

— jack gillum, Washington Post, "‘Must have hit a dead spot’: Recordings show lapses in Metro’s radio system," 1 Feb. 2018
Other enhancements would include information screens about the next bus coming and emergency call boxes for people to get in touch with authorities or customer service.

— christina hall, Detroit Free Press, "SMART property tax possible on August ballot," 21 Apr. 2018
The building was no longer there, but after researching land records, Kraus found the area was once called Box Horn Farm.

— alison knezevich, baltimoresun.com, "Woman who Nazis called 'most dangerous of all Allied spies' memorialized in Baltimore County," 7 Apr. 2018
There are 264 steps to the top and call boxes for emergencies.

— matt campbell robert a. cronkleton and eric adler, kansascity, "Son of Kansas lawmaker dies on Verrückt slide at Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kan. | The Kansas City Star," 7 Aug. 2016
Even in the age of cell phones, the city’s 2,039 call boxes are viewed as an essential tool for first responders, especially in the event of a major disaster that knocks down power lines or cripples cell service.

— dominic fracassa, San Francisco Chronicle, "SF trying to figure out how to bring old emergency call boxes into modern world," 28 Feb. 2018
Then, at around noon, a call box was pulled outside an auto supply and appliance store at 10th and H streets NE.

— john kelly, Washington Post, "In 1953, 44 firefighters were injured when a store on H Street NE exploded," 3 Feb. 2018
Its closest point of comparison, a Silicon Valley storage company called Box, has a market capitalization of about $3.2 billion on annual revenue of about $400 million.

— nick wingfield and matt phillips, New York Times, "Dropbox Files for I.P.O., and Other ‘Unicorns’ Are Watching," 23 Feb. 2018
Additionally, Supervisor Aaron Peskin called for a hearing on the city’s broken emergency call boxes, many of which are covered with towels and masking tape.

— rachel swan, San Francisco Chronicle, "SF supes consider all-gender bathrooms in SROs, planning commissioner named," 6 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'call box.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of call box

1877

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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CALL BOX Defined for English Language Learners

call box

noun

Definition of call box for English Language Learners

: a telephone that is located on the side of a road and that is used for reporting emergencies
: a public telephone booth

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