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

Imagine the Los Angeles sports landscape in a shoebox, with most of it focused in the downtown area with the Lakers and the Dodgers. —Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026

Its lightweight, metal frame is easy for one person to maneuver, and the size reflects enough light to make even your shoebox feel grand. —Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 12 Jan. 2026

Helen places Kim’s letter in an old shoebox and sets the box upon a high shelf in the kitchen, on top of a stack of books. —Sadia Shepard, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026

Don't toss them in a shoebox to roll around and come into contact with each other. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 11 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1