carton

1 of 2

noun

car·​ton ˈkär-tᵊn 

: a box or container usually made of cardboard and often of corrugated cardboard

several cartons of books

carton

2 of 2

verb

cartoned; cartoning; cartons

transitive verb

: to pack or enclose in a carton

intransitive verb

: to shape cartons from cardboard sheets

Examples of carton in a Sentence

Noun

She got a carton of ice cream out of the freezer.

a carton of orange juice

He bought a carton of cigarettes.

Several cartons of books arrived yesterday.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This latest group of founders stands on the shoulders of giants from the noughties like Spotify, Klarna, and Skype, who themselves took inspiration from the postwar design empires of IKEA, H&M and Tetra Pak (modernizer of the milk carton). — Jan Larsson, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026

The heavy-duty double-wall carton and dense foam inserts held the power station securely in place. — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026

Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in Silsbee, a small rural town about 100 miles northeast of Houston, according to court records. — Jamie Stengle, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026

The black-and-white cow on the milk carton, the billboard, and the children’s picture books is almost always a Holstein-Friesian, and that is not a quirk of illustration. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, from Italian cartone pasteboard

First Known Use

Noun

1906, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1921, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for carton

• garten
• marten
• parton
• spartan
• tartan
• kindergarten

Kids Definition

carton

noun

car·​ton

ˈkärt-ᵊn

: a paperboard box or container

Etymology

Noun

from French carton "cardboard box," from Italian cartone "pasteboard," from carta "sheet of paper," from Latin charta "piece of papyrus" — related to card entry 3, cartoon