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
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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
Column: Streamers profited when ‘the idiot box’ became art.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
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
Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Column: Streamers profited when ‘the idiot box’ became art.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
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
-
Maggie Burkhead has been named senior vice president of TV development & production.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Officials are offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer, news outlets FOX5 in Atlanta and WSB-TV reported.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The episode delves into the confidential medical procedure to collect DNA and evidence and gives one of the most detailed depictions of the process for television.—
Senior Television,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Ultimately, Leventoff said the matter highlights the FCC’s influence in shaping what content viewers see on television.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idiot box.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiot%20box. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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