ENGLISH
REFERENCE

boxing

n. · v.
US //ˈbɑksɪŋ// UK //bˈɒksɪŋ// box·ing
  1. 1 the sport (n.)
    A2 Elementary Sport

    a sport where two people wearing large gloves hit each other with their fists.

    a combat sport in which two participants, typically wearing protective gloves, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.

    Example

    He started boxing at the local gym to improve his fitness and strength.

    Example

    Professional boxing requires an extraordinary level of cardiovascular endurance and mental discipline to withstand twelve rounds of high-intensity combat.
  2. 2 putting in boxes (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the act of putting things into boxes to move or sell them.

    the action of enclosing or packing items into boxes or similar containers.

    Example

    We spent the whole weekend boxing up our books before the move.

    Example

    The factory automated the boxing process to ensure that every fragile component was securely cushioned before shipment.
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  1. 3 programming (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    in computer science, turning a simple piece of data into a more complex object.

    the process of converting a value type to a reference type by wrapping it in an object.

    Example

    The software slowed down because it was doing too much boxing of small numbers.

    Example

    Frequent boxing and unboxing operations can lead to significant performance overhead due to increased memory allocation on the heap.

    Usage

    The term is usually paired with its opposite, 'unboxing'.
    • unboxing
Etymology 1

From box (“to punch”) + -ing.

Etymology 2

From box + -ing.

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