jack-in-the-box

or jack-in-a-box

[ jak-in-thuh-boks ]

/ ˈdʒæk ɪn ðəˌbɒks /

Save This Word!

noun, plural jack-in-the-box·es.

a toy consisting of a box from which an enclosed figure springs up when the lid is opened.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of jack-in-the-box

First recorded in 1545–55

Words nearby jack-in-the-box

Jackie, jackie tar, jack in, jacking engine, jack-in-office, jack-in-the-box, jack-in-the-green, jack-in-the-pulpit, Jack Ketch, jackknife, jackknife-fish

How to use jack-in-the-box in a sentence

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is a guy who has his son-in-law clean his eyeglasses, for crying out loud.
Will Chris Christie Regret His Cowboy Hug?|Matt Lewis|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Her travel clique has been known to arrive at an airport, bags packed, passport-in-hand, within hours of spotting a deal.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Beside her was a box of bonbons, which she held out at intervals to Madame Ratignolle.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Strathland would bundle me out in ten minutes if anything happened to Jack.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Now and then the boy who had bought Squinty, and who was taking him home, would look around at his pet in the slatted box.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
The little pig in the box felt himself being lifted out of the wagon.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for jack-in-the-box

jack-in-the-box

noun plural jack-in-the-boxes or jacks-in-the-box

a toy consisting of a figure on a compressed spring in a box, which springs out when the lid is opened

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