lunchbox

[ luhnch-boks ]

/ ˈlʌntʃˌbɒks /

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noun

a small container, usually of metal or plastic and with a handle, for carrying one's lunch from home to school or work.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Also called lunchpail, lunch·buck·et

[luhnch-buhk-it]. /ˈlʌntʃˌbʌk ɪt/.

Origin of lunchbox

First recorded in 1860–65; lunch + box¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lunchbox in a sentence

Dick van Hoff x Thomas Eyck Canteen and Lunch Box Set, $299 at GSelect 2.
The Daily Beast's 2013 Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide|The Daily Beast|November 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He was slight, wore a workman's overall suit, and he had a lunch box under his arm.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
Something with the glint of bright steel flashed from the lunch box under the man's arm.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
His idea of a lunch box was a jug or a rope to freeze soup onto like a candle.
The Marvelous Exploits of Paul Bunyan|W. B. Laughead

Eugene had bought a lunch box and was carrying with him daily a delectable lunch put up under Mrs. Hibberdell's direction.
The "Genius"|Theodore Dreiser
He had on his old peaked hat and carried his handsome leather lunch box jauntily in one hand.
The "Genius"|Theodore Dreiser

British Dictionary definitions for lunchbox

lunchbox

/ (ˈlʌntʃˌbɒks) /

noun

a container for carrying a packed lunch

British and Australian jocular a man's genitals

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