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
  • That includes streamers like Fubo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, or more traditional providers like DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity.
    Takashi Williams, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There was severe trauma to her face that investigators think may have been caused by a gunshot wound, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
    Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Her bestselling novels featuring former detective Jackson Brodie became the BBC television series Case Histories, starring Jason Isaacs.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Angine de Poitrine, the anonymous duo from Québec who are getting so popular that Google now festoons their search page with polka dots, made their late-night television debut on The Tonight Show on Monday.
    Devon Ivie, Vulture, 15 Sep. 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 16 Sep. 2026.

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