boxer
nounUK /ˈbɒksə/ · US /ˈbɑksɚ/
Etymology From box + -er.
1
A participant in a boxing match; a fighter who boxes.
- You can tell she's a boxer by looking at her nose.
- In 1925, boxer shorts were unleashed on the world: loose-fitting underwear for men, featuring an elastic waistband inspired by the shorts worn by boxers. It was underwear for the inner pugilist.2018 August 9, Alan Burdick, “Science has Resolved the Question of Boxers vs. Briefs”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 09 Nov 2020:
1 more example
- He [Bad Bunny] strode past vendors of coco frio, tacos and piraguas; a pair of boxers sparring; a table of older gentlemen playing dominoes; women at a nail salon.2026 February 9, Jon Caramanica, “Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Review: A History Lesson Full of Puerto Rican Pride”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Feb 2026:
2
A type of internal combustion engine in which cylinders are arranged in two banks on either side of a single crankshaft.
3
The person running a game of two-up.
4
One who packs boxes.
- They look over the boxes that have been packed, pass judgment upon defects detected by the boxers, and O. K. the boxes […]1917, Vocational Education Survey of Minneapolis, Minn, page 385:
5
A letterboxer.
6
Attributive form of boxers (“boxer shorts”).
- Jockey International, the major boxer maker, has a design for everyone: jungle prints featuring the irrepressible Garfield the cat peeping out between the leaves; […]1987, Health, volume 19:
- My husband, Zac, noticed my laundry shortcomings when his sock and boxer drawer came up empty, and kindly asked if I could please do some laundry.2011, Jennie Allen, “Mad”, in Stuck Study: The Places We Get Stuck & the God Who Sets Us Free, Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, →ISBN, page 38:
1 more example
- The boxer-type underwear would tear and get tangled up, and the brief kind would get too binding and hot, so we might not wear either.2012, “Dennis Miller”, in Ronald H. Dykes, “They Wouldn’t Let Us Win”: Jackson County, Alabama, Veterans Relive the Vietnam War, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, Inc., →ISBN, page 72:
- Synonyms
- pugilist, boxer engine
- Derived terms
- Boxador, boxer-briefs, boxer briefs, boxered, boxerly, Boxers Creek, boxer shorts, boxers, cage boxer, chess boxer, kick-boxer, kickboxer, shadowboxer, squeeze boxer, squeeze-boxer, Thai boxer