idiot box

noun

Definition of idiot boxnext
as in TV
an electronic device with a screen and speakers that reproduces images and sound she declared that she wouldn't have an idiot box in her home

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of idiot box Writers strove to position themselves as more cynical than the idiot box that knew itself to be an idiot box. — Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025 All that, somehow, without Truman himself ever switching on the idiot box. — Armond White, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023 But the idiot box has also inspired arguably his worst projects, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom, sanctimonious and stupefyingly self-serious accounts of the woes of content creation. — Jason Bailey, Vulture, 21 Dec. 2021 All those childhood years in front of the idiot box could now be considered research — a lifetime of training, cleverly disguised as sloth. — Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiot box
  1. TV
  2. television
Noun
  • Five days ago, the two exchanged barbs and accusations in a debate on TV Band.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • One of those injured was a 12-year-old girl, Rabeh told France’s BFM TV.
    — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of TV
Noun
  • In both television commercials and in campaign mailers sent to homes across the state, Fazio has criticized Lamont repeatedly for months on electricity.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2026
  • She was also inducted into the Silver Circle for more than 25 years of dedication to the arts and sciences of television.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of television

Browse Nearby Words

idiot
idiot box
idiot boxes
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Cite this Entry

“Idiot box.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiot%20box. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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