noun Music Slang

Boombox

/ˈbuːmˌbɒks/ · noun · informal

The portable stereo you hauled on your shoulder to bring the party with you.

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Definitions

1

A large, portable, battery-powered stereo with speakers, central to 80s street and hip-hop culture.

“He carried that boombox on his shoulder blasting the latest jams.”
by community
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2

A symbol of public, communal music and the soundtrack of city blocks and park jams.

“Somebody set the boombox on the stoop and the whole block gathered round.”
by community
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3

The tool b-boys used to bring breakbeats to any corner for a cipher.

“All you needed was a boombox and a piece of cardboard to start a battle.”
by community
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Boombox In A Sentence

Her boombox ate batteries but the bass was worth it.
Kids cranked the boombox until somebody's mom yelled out the window.
He taped his favorite radio mix straight off the boombox.

Origin & Usage

The big portable stereos that defined 70s and 80s urban America, the boombox carried hip-hop out of the home and into the streets, parks, and subways where the culture lived.

Variants ghetto blasterboom boxjambox
Tags #hip-hop#old-school#1980s#vintage#technology#street

People Also Ask

What is a boombox?

It's a large portable stereo with built-in speakers, a defining piece of 70s-80s street and hip-hop culture.

Where did the boombox come from?

Portable stereos rose in the late 70s and 80s; in urban America they became inseparable from hip-hop, b-boying, and public block culture.

Was the boombox also called a ghetto blaster?

Yes, 'ghetto blaster' was a common nickname, though boombox is the more neutral and enduring term.

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