The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipment of soap, or other dry goods, from a manufacturer to a retail store.

The meaning of SOAPBOX is an improvised platform used by a self-appointed, spontaneous, or informal orator; broadly : something that provides an outlet for delivering opinions.

SOAPBOX definition: Also soap box an improvised platform, as one on a street, from which a speaker delivers an informal speech, an appeal, or political harangue. See examples of soapbox used in a …

Idiom get on your soapbox (Definition of soapbox from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

If you say that someone is on their soapbox, you mean that they are speaking or writing about something they have strong feelings about. We were interested in pushing forward certain issues …

A soapbox is anything a public speaker stands on to address a crowd. A first grader giving a speech on the playground in favor of longer recess might use her lunchbox as a soapbox. The original …

SOAPBOX meaning: a box or small platform that someone stands on to give a speech to people in an outdoor, public place often used figuratively to describe making speeches or expressing strong opinions

Factsheet What does the noun soapbox mean? There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun soapbox. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

soap′box` or soap′ box`, n. an improvised platform, as one on a street, from which a speaker delivers an informal speech or political harangue.

Dec 30, 2025 · soapbox (plural soapboxes) (literally) A crate for packing soap. The madman obtained a soapbox which he stood on at the corner of Broadway and Wall street, to shout out his prophecy of …