matchbox

[mach-boks]

noun

1. a small box, usually of cardboard, for matches. match.

matchbox

/ ˈmætʃˌbɒks /

noun

1. a small box for holding matches

Word History and Origins

Origin of matchbox¹

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

Example Sentences

He stepped into the dingy lobby of an apartment building, reached his arm behind the radiator, and grabbed a matchbox hanging by a wire.

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

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Her first illusion was turning a penny into a dime using a matchbox.

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South Koreans have described its uniform, rectangular columns as “matchboxes.”

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Our old home in the kitchen wall behind the stove, in our matchboxes with the scrap quilts and the human-hair mattresses.

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