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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

out of the box en · ADP

Pronunciation

  • /ʌʊt əv ðə bɑːks/ (Canada)
  • (Australia) audio
  • /æʊt əv ðə bɒks/ (Australia)
  • /aʊt əv ðə bɒks/ (UK)
  • /ɘʉt əv ðə bɒks/ (Scotland)
  • /aʊt əv ðə bɑːks/ (US)
  • /æɔt əv ðə bɒks/ (Australia)

Meanings

  1. Of a product, immediately, without intervention from the customer.
    • This software has to work out of the box, without any fancy installation.
    • As well as trade union opposition when the new Class 195s arrived, they could not work 'out of the box' due to gauge clearance issues. 2019 November 6, “Industry Insider: Blame the policymakers”, in Rail, page 76:
  2. (figuratively) Outside the box; unconventionally: outside the limits of conventional thinking.
    • She: You’re not trying to think out of the box! 2007, Allan Wolf, Zane's Trace, Candlewick Press, →ISBN, page 63:
    • Mom and dad didn’t have a ready answer to Mort’s out of the box idea, but Mickey did. 2005, John Campbell Self, Faeries’ Dance, Cupid’s Dream, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 16:
    • He started out with the rather obvious alternative of talking to Junior; Hesh’s scheme was more imaginative; and Tony’s idea of torching the restaurant really is out of the box. 2004, Deborrah Himsel, Leadership Sopranos Style: How to Become a More Effective Boss, Kaplan Publishing, →ISBN, page 135:
    • She said the agency was happy to review “out-of-the-box pitches,” particularly those that celebrate “what it means to be an American.” 2025 May 16, Hamed Aleaziz, quoting Tricia McLaughlin, “A Reality Show Where Immigrants Compete for U.S. Citizenship? D.H.S. Is Considering It.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: See out of, the, box.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
out-of-the-box alternative lexicographic

Deriveds

out-of-box experience

Relateds

knock out of the box

Synonyms

outside the box · outside of the box · off the shelf · laterally · OOTB

Translations (10)

pl prosto spod igły ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · fi käyttövalmiina ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · tr hazır ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · de von der Stange ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · de (direkt) einsatzfähig ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · fr au déballage ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · eo elskatole ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · cs od výroby ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · de gebrauchsfertig ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer) · ru из коро́бки ((idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer)