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) with Rachel Cox-Rosen.
    Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 19 July 2026
  • In 2009, the Directors’ Guild and the Writers’ Guild objected when the TV Academy revealed a plan to pre-tape award presentations in eight categories before the show.
    Michael Schneider, Variety, 17 July 2026
Noun
  • On linear television, the series is up +62% among adults 18-49, +26% among adults 25-54 and +30% in total viewers, with P2+ viewing across VOD platforms rising +44% within seven days of airing.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 16 July 2026
  • Based on a Disney+ television series, the film was the franchise’s first theatrical release in seven years.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 16 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 23 Jul. 2026.

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