boom box

noun

, Informal.

1. a large, powerful portable radio and often cassette or CD player.

Word History and Origins

Origin of boom box¹

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

A Dead Kennedys song plays on a radio boom box, as a bell rings a brief warning each time a cylinder turns.

From Los Angeles Times

She hummed along with one of her church choir songs softly playing on an old boom box.

From Literature

The artists gathered in the lunch area and began gyrating to tunes from a boom box.

From New York Times

Watching him come out on a bare stage with a boom box and say, "I've got a tape I want to play," or ask, "Does anybody have any questions?" is charming.

From Salon

Passersby walked on as a boom box tied to the car’s roof repeatedly blared the words “The Ixil people do remember” and played the judge’s genocide verdict.

From Los Angeles Times