outbox

1 of 2

noun

out·​box ˈau̇t-ˌbäks How to pronounce outbox (audio)
variants or out-box
1
: a box or tray (as on a desk) for holding outgoing interoffice mail
2
: a computer folder for outgoing email messages that have not yet been sent

outbox

2 of 2

verb

out·​box ˌau̇t-ˈbäks How to pronounce outbox (audio)
outboxed; outboxing; outboxes

transitive verb

: to outdo or surpass in boxing : to box more skillfully or successfully than (an opponent)
… saying that after a few lessons they've outboxed bigger and heavier opponents.Sinclair Lewis
Holyfield won by thoroughly outboxing Rahman at every turn, jabbing and battering him over and over …Mike Freeman

Examples of outbox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Traceability and reliability: Many healthcare executives prefer not to exchange important information over email because there is no proof of receipt, and emails could mistakenly end up in a spam folder or get stuck in an outbox. Kali Durgampudi, Forbes, 18 July 2022 There's a general idea in show business that January is where movies go to die, a dumpster month for studios looking to quietly burn off the cursed and broken projects still lingering in last year's outbox. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 6 Jan. 2022 The review of Allen’s inbox and outbox is what ultimately led to Gruden’s resignation, and showed that Allen participated in inappropriate and offensive conversations, including the sharing of pornographic images. Kevin Draper, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2021
Verb
Though observers might believe Beterbiev’s best chance is to win by KO and Bivol’s best chance is to outbox his opponent, Beterbiev is also a skillful boxer and Bivol has solid power. Josh Katzowitz, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024 Assuming Bivol can outbox Alvarez for much of this fight and can stay away from Alvarez’s power shots, Alvarez is going to have a tough time. Josh Katzowitz, Forbes, 7 May 2022 Tyson Fury can outbox most any heavyweight on the planet. Zack Jones, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2021 But all that dazzling motion, required to outbox the bigger Maxim, caught up with him in the oppressive heat. Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, 24 June 2021 Both laptops with the older 14nm 10th-gen Comet Lake H can’t even outbox a much tinier Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, 14 May 2021 Ongare, 26, made it through to the Olympics after outboxing Ugandan opponent Catherine Nanziri in the women's flyweight (51 kilogram) division at the Africa Boxing Olympic Qualification tournament in Dakar, Senegal. Aisha Salaudeen, CNN, 2 Mar. 2020 The Tuscaloosa native, who was getting outboxed most of the night, improves his career record to 42-0-1, with 41 knockouts. Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 23 Nov. 2019 Walking forward from the opening bell, Lawrence did his best to utilize his length and head movement to outbox his Bolivian opponent. John Morgan, The Courier-Journal, 12 July 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'outbox.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1970, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1855, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of outbox was in 1855

Dictionary Entries Near outbox

Cite this Entry

“Outbox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outbox. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

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