shoebox

noun

shoe·​box ˈshü-ˌbäks 

variants or less commonly shoe box

1

: a box that shoes are sold in

a shoebox full of old photographs

2

: a small space and especially a small living space

The loft, almost an hour from her house by tube, is a shoebox with 18-foot ceilings, white and blue, with odds and ends of mismatched furniture …

—Michael Kimmelman

—often used before another noun

a shoebox apartment

Since commercial real estate was cheaper, art galleries and Off Off Off Broadway theaters could spring up in shoebox storefronts.

—James Wolcott

Examples of shoebox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Since its inception in 1993, Operation Christmas Child has distributed over 220 million shoeboxes across more than 170 countries and territories. —Jasmine Baehr, Fox News, 20 Nov. 2024

However, there's a problem—the shoebox is too small. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025

When placed strategically, an oversized floor mirror can open up a shoebox apartment and create the illusion of taller ceilings. —Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 4 Mar. 2025

The day began slowly with a pancake breakfast followed by a 5K run and a shoebox parade, where kids show off small-scale parade floats. —Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1