A shoebox is exactly what it sounds like: a small rectangular cardboard box that shoes come in when you buy them from a store. Most shoeboxes are about a foot long, with a lid that lifts off, and they're usually plain cardboard or printed with the shoe company's logo.

But shoeboxes have a life beyond storing shoes. Because they're sturdy, stackable, and just the right size for all sorts of things, people use them to organize collections, store old photographs, keep art supplies, or hide treasures under the bed. A detective in an old movie might keep important case files in a shoebox in their closet. A grandmother might pull down a shoebox full of letters from the attic, each one a memory from decades ago.

The word can also describe something that's boxy and cramped, like when someone complains that their first apartment was a shoebox, meaning it was tiny and rectangular like the box itself. And when charities organize a “shoebox drive” during the holidays, they're asking people to fill shoeboxes with small gifts for children in need, turning an ordinary container into a way to show generosity.