English Reference
noun · verb

boxing

n. · v.
US /ˈbɑksɪŋ/ UK /bˈɒksɪŋ/ box·ing UK spelling boxings

  1. 01 A2 Elementary Sport

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

    n.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.

    Simple

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

    In context

    Professional boxing requires an extraordinary level of cardiovascular endurance and mental discipline to withstand twelve rounds of high-intensity combat.

    pugilismfighting
  2. 02 B1 Intermediate

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

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

    Simple

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

    In context

    The factory automated the boxing process to ensure that every fragile component was securely cushioned before shipment.

  3. 03 C1 Advanced Technical Computing

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

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

    Simple

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

    In context

    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

Usage boxing match · boxing champion


Etymology 1

From box (“to punch”) + -ing.

Etymology 2

From box + -ing.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level A2 · Elementary
Frequency Common
Updated