firebox

[fahyuh r-boks]

noun

the box or chamber containing the fire of a steam boiler, furnace, etc.
the furnace of a locomotive, where coal, oil, or other fuel is burned to generate steam.
a box or panel with a device for notifying the fire station of an outbreak of fire.

Obsolete. a tinderbox.

Origin of firebox

First recorded in 1545–55; fire + box¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for firebox

Historical Examples of firebox

The ends of the fuses were hidden by the tinder of the fuel in the firebox.
Bloom of Cactus
Robert Ames Bennet
No piece larger than a mans fist should be put in a firebox.
Farm Engines and How to Run Them
James H. Stephenson
The straw burners are provided with a firebrick arch in the firebox.
Farm Engines and How to Run Them
James H. Stephenson
He sped not only with the firebox open but with the forced draught.
The Secret of the Night
Gaston Leroux
The short legs of the pan rested on the red-hot coals in the firebox, while the cover was always within reach.
The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippi
Harry Gordon

British Dictionary definitions for firebox

firebox

noun

the furnace chamber of a boiler in a steam locomotive
an obsolete word for tinderbox

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012