carton

1 of 2

noun

car·​ton ˈkär-tᵊn 

: a box or container usually made of cardboard and often of corrugated cardboard

several cartons of books

carton

2 of 2

verb

cartoned; cartoning; cartons

transitive verb

: to pack or enclose in a carton

intransitive verb

: to shape cartons from cardboard sheets

Examples of carton in a Sentence

Noun

She got a carton of ice cream out of the freezer.

a carton of orange juice

He bought a carton of cigarettes.

Several cartons of books arrived yesterday.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Plastic spouts for cardboard milk and juice cartons were first introduced in 1990. —Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 4 Dec. 2024

The egg recall involved nearly 11,000 cartons of 24-count organic eggs sold under Costco's Kirkland Signature brand that landed on shelves in Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee starting Nov. 22, according to the company's announcement posted Wednesday on the FDA website. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 30 Nov. 2024

Verb

This basket has a little bit of everything: a sitting bunny, Easter bonbons, caramel bonbons, peeps, an Easter egg carton a chocolate duck and some lollipops. —Sherrie Nachman, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, from Italian cartone pasteboard

First Known Use

Noun

1825, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1921, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

carton

noun

car·​ton

ˈkärt-ᵊn

: a paperboard box or container

Etymology

Noun

from French carton "cardboard box," from Italian cartone "pasteboard," from carta "sheet of paper," from Latin charta "piece of papyrus" — related to card entry 3, cartoon