Think Outside The Box | English Idioms

To think outside the box is to think freely and imaginatively. Compare this with think inside the box. When people think inside the box, their creativity is limited by the boundaries of the box. On the other hand, to think outside the box is to give a free rein to your imagination. Needless to say, leaders and thinkers always encourage people to think outside the box.

• Let’s think outside the box and find a better solution.
• Only those employees who think outside the box survive in today’s competitive corporate environment.
• It was her ability to think outside the box that made her popular with her company’s top management.
• We will have to think outside the box, if we are to build a truly revolutionary product.
• Rohan is incredibly creative – he knows how to think outside the box.

In this phrase, it is possible to use the word look instead of think.

• Look outside the box if you are short of ideas.

To think inside the box is to think in a traditional manner.

• You only think inside the box. That is the problem with you.
• For a change let’s think inside the box and see if we can still come up with good ideas.