Inbox

//ˈɪnbɒks// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A container in which papers to be dealt with are put.
  2. 2
    An electronic folder serving the same purpose, but for electronic files, especially email.

    "Your goal with the remaining emails is to take care of them and remove them from your inbox as soon as possible."

  3. 3
    The aggregate of items that demand one's attention or effort. figuratively

    "The kids, my ex, my parents, the job, bills — my inbox is full."

Verb
  1. 1
    To put (something) in someone's inbox. transitive

    "I just inboxed you the presentation."

  2. 2
    To communicate with (a person) by writing to their electronic inbox. transitive

    "And now, social media has made it worse. From Facebook to Twitter, I get all kinds of invitations. Recently a sister inboxed me on Facebook and told me that she knew for a fact that I wanted her and she wanted me."

Synonyms

All synonyms
in-basketin-traymailboxmessage

Antonyms

All antonyms
outbox

Example

More examples

"You have an email message in your inbox."

Etymology

From in + box.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.