letterboxed

adjective

let·​ter·​boxed ˈle-tər-ˌbäkst 

variants or less commonly letterbox

ˈle-tər-ˌbäks 

of a video recording

: formatted so as to display the full rectangular frame of a wide-screen motion picture

letterboxing

ˈle-tər-ˌbäk-siŋ 

noun

Examples of letterboxed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The app was technically available on iPad before today, but the lack of full support forced it to run as a letterboxed iPhone app, which impacted the emulator’s touch controls and prevented games from using the full iPad screen. —Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 10 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from the resemblance of the picture on the TV screen or the bands above and below the picture to slots in a mailbox

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined above