box in

phrasal verb

boxed in; boxing in; boxes in
: to surround (someone or something) and make movement difficult
The other bicyclists boxed her in and she couldn't move ahead.
usually used as (be) boxed in
We were boxed in and couldn't get out of our parking space.
sometimes used figuratively
I feel boxed in by all these rules.

Examples of box in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
In 2022, an armed militia watched ballot drop boxes in Arizona as part of a long-term voter intimidation plan. Worth Sparkman, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024 Just this week, ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington were set ablaze, while in Miami, a stash of sealed ballots fell out of an election worker's truck, stoking concern among voters. Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2024 On one occasion, Shafer showed Duffey a video of someone putting envelopes in a ballot drop box in 2020. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024 Almost all the ballots set ablaze on Monday were in a drop box in Vancouver, Washington, while most ballots in a drop box in Portland, Oregon, survived a fire set the same day, election officials said. Amanda Musa, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for box in 

Dictionary Entries Near box in

Cite this Entry

“Box in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/box%20in. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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