false bottom

American  

noun

1. a horizontal partition above the actual bottom of a box, trunk, etc., especially one forming a secret compartment.

---

Etymology

Origin of false bottom

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

The heart-stories behind the mailboxes are discreetly pasted, painted, hammered and welded into their forms like love letters secreted into the false bottom drawer of a writing desk.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2023

Whitman’s Sampler and the Russell Stover Holiday Season Box with 52 pieces got new packaging and new dimensions that did away with what was, essentially, a false bottom.

From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2023

To see whether the jellyfish were really asleep, they built a false bottom to the aquarium and lowered it—essentially “pulling the rug out” from under the creatures.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 27, 2021

"Maybe it was a false bottom," Iannetta said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2015

It would stay there until he moved it to the trunk: the false bottom was built to match the Mona Lisa’s measurements.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day