matchbox

American

[mach-boks] / ˈmætʃˌbɒks /

noun

a small box, usually of cardboard, for matches.

matchbox British

/ ˈmætʃˌbɒks /

noun

a small box for holding matches

"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

Etymology

Origin of matchbox

First recorded in 1780–90; match ¹ + box ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

matchbox

It also taps into nostalgia for the toy cars, which originated after English engineer Jack Odell designed the first model to comply with a 1952 British school rule requiring toys to fit inside a matchbox.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

And she told us “I’m standin’ here wonderin’ will a matchbox hold my clothes” before Blind Lemon Jefferson, decades before Carl Perkins or the Beatles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

In a matter of months, they transformed the heaps of charred rubble into mostly vacant matchbox lots, ready for rebuilding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025

“Um, as an invisible matchbox? Can’t you see?”

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025

Soon, we could see the little matchbox houses of the Cape Flats, the gleaming towers of downtown, and the horizontal top of Table Mountain.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023