inbox

noun

in·​box ˈin-ˌbäks 

variants or in-box

plural inboxes or in-boxes

1

: a box or tray (as on a desk) for holding incoming interoffice mail

2

: a computer folder devoted to incoming email

One of my favorite rituals soon became scanning our email inbox, looking for your photographs … and reading the letters you sent …

—Amy Virshup

Examples of inbox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sign up to receive it in your inbox. —Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026

Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox. —Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026

Sign up for free to receive it directly in your inbox. —Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2026

Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox. —Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day. —Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026

Subscribe here to receive the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday. —Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2026

Dig deep and sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free Survivor Weekly newsletter to have all the latest news, interviews, and commentary sent right to your inbox. —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026

To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here. —Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

in-box

noun

ˈin-ˌbäks 

: a receptacle for incoming letters between offices in an organization

also : a computer folder for incoming email