Standard Lemma guide

carton

name · noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈkɑːtən/
  • UK: /ˈkɑːtn̩/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈkɑɹtn̩/
  • US: [ˈkhɑɹʔn̩]
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)tən
  • CMU ARPABET: K AA1 R T AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An inexpensive, disposable box-like container fashioned from either paper, paper with wax-covering (wax paper), or other lightweight material.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • a carton of milk or eggs

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cardboard box, container, package

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A pack of cigarettes, usually ten, wrapped in cellophane or packed in a light cardboard box.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A cardboard box that holds (usually 24) beer bottles or cans.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: case

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A kind of thin pasteboard.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A small disc within the bullseye of a target.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A shot that strikes this disc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To put in a carton.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

a box made of cardboard; opens by flaps on top

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: box

Narrower terms: six-pack, six pack, sixpack

10

noun

Meaning 10

the quantity contained in a carton

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cartonful

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: containerful

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French carton, from Italian cartone. Doublet of cartoon.

Across languages

Translations

66 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: كَرْتُون (kartūn) — box-like container
  • Arabic: كَرْتُونَة (kartūna) — box-like container
  • Bulgarian: кашо́н (kašón) — box-like container
  • Burmese: ကာတွန်း (ka-twan:) — box-like container
  • Catalan: bric — box-like container
  • Chinese Mandarin: 紙箱 /纸箱 (zhǐxiāng) — box-like container
  • Dutch: karton — box-like container
  • Estonian: pakend — box-like container
  • Finnish: pakkaus — box-like container
  • Finnish: kartonki — box-like container
  • Finnish: tölkki — box-like container
  • Finnish: laatikko — box-like container
  • Finnish: rasia — box-like container
  • Finnish: kenno — box-like container
  • French: carton — box-like container
  • German: Karton — box-like container
  • Icelandic: ferna — box-like container
  • Indonesian: karton — box-like container
  • Japanese: カートン (kāton) — box-like container
  • Japanese: カートンパック (kāton pakku) — box-like container
  • Japanese: 紙パック (kamipakku) — box-like container
  • Khmer: ប្រអប់ (prɑɑʼɑp) — box-like container
  • Korean: 갑 (gap) — box-like container
  • Korean: 종이갑 (jong'igap) — box-like container
  • Korean: 종이팩 (jong'ipaek) — box-like container
  • Lao: ຫີບເຈັ້ຍ (hīp chia) — box-like container
  • Māori: kātene — box-like container
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kartong — box-like container
  • Iranian Persian: کارْتُن (kârton) — box-like container
  • Polish: karton — box-like container
  • Portuguese: caixa/embalagem de papel — box-like container
  • Russian: коро́бка (koróbka) — box-like container
  • Russian: паке́т (pakét) — box-like container
  • Spanish: caja — box-like container
  • Spanish: envase de cartón — box-like container
  • Spanish: cartón — box-like container
  • Spanish: tetrabrik — box-like container
  • Spanish: brik — box-like container
  • Swahili: katoni — box-like container
  • Swedish: kartong — box-like container
  • Thai: กล่อง (glɔ̀ng) — box-like container
  • Tibetan: ཤོག་སྒམ (shog sgam) — box-like container
  • Vietnamese: hộp — box-like container
  • Vietnamese: hộp giấy — box-like container
  • Vietnamese: hộp các-tông — box-like container
  • Arabic: عَرُوسَة (ʕarūsa) — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Armenian: բլոկ (blok) — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Belarusian: блок (blok) — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Bulgarian: стек (stek) — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Dutch: slof — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Estonian: plokk — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Finnish: kartonki — a carton of cigarette packs
  • French: cartouche — a carton of cigarette packs
  • German: Stange — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Indonesian: slop — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Italian: stecca — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Khmer: សុង (song) — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Polish: blok — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Portuguese: cartela — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Romanian: cartuș — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Russian: блок (blok) — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Serbo-Croatian: ште̏ка — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Serbo-Croatian: štȅka — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Spanish: cajetilla — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Swedish: limpa — a carton of cigarette packs
  • Ukrainian: блок (blok) — a carton of cigarette packs
Real reading context

carton in complete knowledge articles