¹black box

noun

: a device used in an airplane to record flight information (such as altitude or airspeed) or the voices of the pilots and crew

Full Definition of BLACK BOX

: a usually complicated electronic device whose internal mechanism is usually hidden from or mysterious to the user; broadly : anything that has mysterious or unknown internal functions or mechanisms

: a crashworthy device in aircraft for recording cockpit conversations and flight data

See black box defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of BLACK BOX

circa 1945

Rhymes with BLACK BOX

aurochs, bandbox, boom box, boondocks, Botox, call box, cowpox, detox, dough box, firebox, Fort Knox, gearbox, glove box, gravlax, gray fox, hatbox, hotbox, icebox, in-box, jewel box, jukebox, kit fox, live-box, lockbox, mailbox, matchbox, musk ox, out-box, outfox, pillbox, poor box, postbox, press box, red fox, redox, saltbox, sandbox, saucebox, skybox, smallpox, snuffbox, soapbox, sound box, squawk box, strongbox, sweatbox, swell box, swift fox, toolbox, unbox, voice box, volvox, workbox, Xerox

²black box

adjective

Definition of BLACK BOX

: being or containing a warning of a serious or life-threatening side effect (as stroke or muscle damage) that is highlighted by a black border on a prescription drug's label or accompanying literature

First Known Use of BLACK BOX

1988

Medical Dictionary

black box

adjective

Medical Definition of BLACK BOX

: being or containing a warning of a serious or life-threatening side effect (as stroke, muscle damage, or suicidal tendencies) that is highlighted by a black border <a black box warning on the drug's label>