carton

[ kahr-tn ]

noun

1. a cardboard or plastic box used typically for storage or shipping.
2. the amount a carton can hold.
3. the contents of a carton.
4. a cardboardlike substance consisting of chewed plant material often mixed with soil, made by certain insects for building nests.

verb (used with object)

1. to pack in a carton:

   to carton eggs for supermarket sales.

verb (used without object)

1. to make or form cardboard sheets into cartons.

carton

/ ˈkɑːtən /

noun

1. a cardboard box for containing goods
2. a container of waxed paper or plastic in which liquids, such as milk, are sold
3. shooting
   1. a white disc at the centre of a target
   2. a shot that hits this disc

verb

1. to enclose (goods) in a carton

Other Words From

• un·cartoned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of carton¹

1780–90; < French < Italian cartone pasteboard; cartoon

Word History and Origins

Origin of carton¹

C19: from French, from Italian cartone pasteboard, from carta card ¹

Example Sentences

Welsh Labour MP Steve Witherden has apologised after being reproached for drinking milk from a carton in the House of Commons last week.

From BBC

Whole Foods became more than a place to pick up a carton of milk, it was a place to assert your values, and to feel good.

From Los Angeles Times

But last Sunday she came through a sudden death play off against Pauline Roussin-Bouchard to claim the Women's Irish Open at Carton House.

From BBC

Yet while those meals meet federal nutrition mandates, they are often simply composed of a smattering of processed foods — breakfast cereal, fruit juice, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, frozen pizza — served alongside a fruit or vegetable and carton of dairy milk.

From Salon

Whole Foods became more than a place to pick up a carton of milk, it was a place to assert your values, and to feel good.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• container
• crate
• packet