idiot box

Definition of idiot boxnext
as in TV
an electronic device with a screen and speakers that reproduces images and sound she declared that she wouldn't have an idiot box in her home

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of idiot box Writers strove to position themselves as more cynical than the idiot box that knew itself to be an idiot box. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025 All that, somehow, without Truman himself ever switching on the idiot box. Armond White, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023 But the idiot box has also inspired arguably his worst projects, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom, sanctimonious and stupefyingly self-serious accounts of the woes of content creation. Jason Bailey, Vulture, 21 Dec. 2021 All those childhood years in front of the idiot box could now be considered research — a lifetime of training, cleverly disguised as sloth. Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiot box
Noun
  • Doug Turnbull covers the traffic/transportation beat for WXIA-TV (11Alive).
    Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 12 July 2026
  • While Prime Video doesn’t list Backrooms’ runtime, the order pages for it on Apple TV and Fandango at Home note the film is 1 hour and 50 minutes, which is the length of the original Backrooms’ theatrical release.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Noun
  • Gubicza, the two-time All-Star pitcher and now the Angels’ television analyst, grew up in Philadelphia.
    Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • Eidenbenz starred in Netflix fantasy series The Witcher, alongside television roles in Down Cemetery Road (Apple TV+), Maxton Hall Season 2 (Amazon MGM), Victoria (ITV), The Athena (Sky) and two seasons of X Company (CBC).
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 9 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Idiot box.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiot%20box. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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