out of the box
See also: out-of-the-box
English
editAlternative forms
edit- out-of-the-box (especially in attributive use)
Pronunciation
edit- (General Australian) IPA(key): /æɔt əv ðə bɒks/, /æʊt əv ðə bɒks/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
- (Canada) IPA(key): /ʌʊt əv ðə bɑːks/
- (UK) IPA(key): /aʊt əv ðə bɒks/
- (US) IPA(key): /aʊt əv ðə bɑːks/
- Rhymes: -ɒks
Prepositional phrase
edit- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: See out of, the, box.
- (idiomatic, of a product) Immediately, without intervention from the customer.
- This software has to work out of the box, without any fancy installation.
- 2019 November 6, “Industry Insider: Blame the policymakers”, in Rail, page 76:
- 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.
- (idiomatic) Outside the box; unconventionally: outside the limits of conventional thinking.
Usage notes
edit- In the sense "unconventionally", outside the box is more frequently used, more than three to one in the US, perhaps to avoid confusion with the other sense of "out of the box". Also used is "outside of the box".
Synonyms
edit- (unconventionally): laterally, outside the box, outside of the box, OOTB
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
edit(idiom) immediately, without intervention from the customer
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Translations to be checked
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References
edit- “out of the box”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.