Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated box

Box

Box describes a variety of containers and receptacles for permanent use as storage, or for temporary use often for transporting contents. The word derives from the Greek πύξος , "box, boxwood"....

es, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material.

The term cardboard may refer to a variety of heavy paper-like materials,
including card stock

Card stock

Card stock, also called cover stock or pasteboard, is a paper stock that is thicker and more durable than normal writing or printing paper, but thinner and more flexible than other forms of paperboard. Card stock is often used for business cards, postcards, playing cards, catalog covers,...

, corrugated fiberboard
or paperboard

Paperboard

Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...

. The meaning of the term may depend on the locale, contents, construction, and personal choice.
Several types of containers are sometimes called cardboard box:
In business and industry, material producers, container manufacturers, packaging engineers,
and standards organization

Standards organization

A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization , or standards setting organization is any organization whose primary activities are developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpreting, or otherwise producing technical standards that are...

s,
try to use more specific terminology.