music box

American  

noun

• music boxes
  plural

1. a box or case containing an apparatus for producing music mechanically, as by means of a comblike steel plate with tuned teeth sounded by small pegs or pins in the surface of a revolving cylinder or disk.

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music box British  

noun

1. a mechanical instrument that plays tunes by means of pins on a revolving cylinder striking the tuned teeth of a comblike metal plate, contained in a box

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• music boxes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of music box

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

music box

Aficionados will delight in minor details such as being close enough to touch the ghoulish monkey music box from the original, and being within breathing distance of the performers in these famous roles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

René opens the music box, and a tinkling music begins to play, the same song heard long ago in his Damascus sitting room.

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2024

For decades, researchers considered mouse songs instinctual, the fixed tunes of a windup music box, rather than the mutable expressions of individual minds.

From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2023

They were found with two small bags holding clothes, a towel, a flashlight, two phones and a music box.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 16, 2023

I showed her the music box my mother gave me.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter