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
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.
Jones has loved what he’s seen from his owner’s box in recent weeks. Scott Thompson, Fox News, 23 Dec. 2024 The group’s further commitments include replanting trees in Chiswick House and Gardens, installing bird boxes in Loughborough and Milton Keynes, and bat boxes in Lancaster. Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 19 Dec. 2024 Finally, Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack on Israel prompted the Biden administration to take a more interventionist approach to the Middle East, boxing in a Harris campaign that refused to distance itself from the president. Dan Caldwell, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2024 Authorities in Portland said Monday that enough material from the incendiary devices was recovered to show that the two fires were connected — and that they were connected to an Oct. 8 incendiary device at a different ballot drop box in Vancouver. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 31 Oct. 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 9 Jan. 2025.

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