shoebox
noun
shoe·box
ˈshü-ˌbäks 
variants
or less commonly shoe box
1
: a box that shoes are sold in
a shoebox full of old photographs
2
: a small space and especially a small living space
The loft, almost an hour from her house by tube, is a shoebox with 18-foot ceilings, white and blue, with odds and ends of mismatched furniture …—
Michael Kimmelman
—often used before another nounMichael Kimmelmana shoebox apartment
Since commercial real estate was cheaper, art galleries and Off Off Off Broadway theaters could spring up in shoebox storefronts.—James Wolcott
James WolcottExamples of shoebox in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The rooms The Hoxton’s 192 bedrooms come with names like shoebox, cozy up, roomy terrace, and biggy.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2026
User huamanticacacaca posted a photo on Reddit of their daughter’s Easter school project, which shows a shoebox transformed into a detailed scene from the Christian Bible.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Her shoebox of a room has enough space for a sleeping bag as a bed, a desk, and a couple of storage bins.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 26 Mar. 2026
No one should be surprised if Edward Durell Stone’s streamlined modernist shoebox changes beyond recognition.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoebox
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.
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2026
User huamanticacacaca posted a photo on Reddit of their daughter’s Easter school project, which shows a shoebox transformed into a detailed scene from the Christian Bible.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Her shoebox of a room has enough space for a sleeping bag as a bed, a desk, and a couple of storage bins.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 26 Mar. 2026
No one should be surprised if Edward Durell Stone’s streamlined modernist shoebox changes beyond recognition.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoebox
Cite this Entry
“Shoebox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoebox. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
