# Box or Carton, whats the difference between?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/box-or-carton-whats-the-difference-between/128008>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 11, 2002, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/box-or-carton-whats-the-difference-between/128008 "2002-09-11T19:33:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![wensdayaddams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/da6949/32.png) [@wensdayaddams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wensdayaddams)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/box-or-carton-whats-the-difference-between/128008/1 "2002-09-11T19:33:02Z")

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What is the difference between a box and a carton? One explanation received was a box contains one, a carton several.  
Nope. Shoe box = 2 shoes. Carton of milk=milk.  
This has bothered me for years. Please help me.😕

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/box-or-carton-whats-the-difference-between/128008/2 "2002-09-11T20:01:58Z")

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They’re basically the same thing. _Cartone_ is Italian for pasteboard, and cartons are almost always made of cardboard. Box is a type of tree, and the first boxes were made of wood. However, most these days are also cardboard (wooden boxes are often called crates). Sometimes a carton (say, of cigarettes) will contain several boxes, sometimes the other way 'round – it all depends on who fills the box.