boxed in
Hemmed with nowhere
Boxed in describes being trapped or confined with limited options for movement or action.
Physically, a car is boxed in when other vehicles block it from pulling out: I was boxed in and had to wait for someone to move.
Figuratively, it means constrained by circumstances: The new regulations left the company boxed in.
To box someone in is to create this situation deliberately.
- hemmed inEnclosed with no escape
- trappedUnable to escape
- corneredUnable to flee
- confinedKept within bounds
- stuckUnable to move
backed into a corner · hold in · enclosed · surrounded · impasse · deadlock · dead end · checkmate · up against the wall · claustrophobic · caged · corralled · penned · helplessness · locked in · gridlock · tight spot · predicament
- expressions about containmentbottled up, hemmed in, penned in, locked in, shut in
- impassesimpasse, deadlock, stalemate, standstill, gridlock
- predicamentspredicament, dilemma, bind, pickle, pinch
- stuckjammed, clogged, trapped, stuck in mud, snowed in
- tight spotstight spot, corner, trapped, stuck, cornered
boxed inunobstructed
Having no barriers
unconfined · unimpeded · mobile · at liberty · unblocked
boxed infree
Without payment or restriction
unconstrained · liberated · empowered · flexible · unrestricted
boxed inin the open
Visible, not concealed
out in the open · unenclosed · exposed · in the clear · unbounded
box, boxing, boxes, boxed, sandbox, mailbox, boxed-in, inbox, unboxed