Boxers

How to spell boxers

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce boxers

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does boxers mean?

1. nounLoose-fitting undershorts with an elastic waistband, worn especially by men.
2. nounPeople who fight with their fists as a sport.
3. nounA breed of medium-sized, short-haired dogs with a square muzzle.

Boxers in a sentence

• He packed three pairs of boxers for the weekend trip.

• The two boxers touched gloves before the opening bell.

• The rescue centre had two young boxers looking for a home.

• The cotton boxers felt cooler than briefs in the summer heat.

• Amateur boxers train for hours to build their stamina.

• Boxers are known for their energy and loyalty as family pets.

Where does boxers come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word builds on 'box', whose two strands both feed into the modern plural. The fighting sense traces to a verb 'box' meaning to strike or buffet, recorded in English from the 1300s and probably related to a word for a blow or buffet; by the 1700s a 'boxer' was a man who fought with his fists for sport. The garment sense, 'boxer shorts', dates to the 1940s and was named because the loose, elastic-waisted shorts resembled the trunks worn by prizefighters in the ring. The dog breed called the boxer arrived in English in the early 1900s from German, where the breed was thought to spar with its front paws like a fighter. In every case the agent suffix '-er' attaches to 'box', and the only spelling care needed is keeping the simple '-ers' ending rather than doubling the consonant.

How the word is built

• box (to fight with fists / a container)
• -er (one who, or thing that)
• -s (plural)