music box

noun

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.

music box

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of music box¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Rollins is accompanied by Nick Myers, who sits on the side of the stage dressed as a music box in silver foil and oversized pearls.

From Los Angeles Times

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

Our next stop was Culver City, where he gave me a music box that played “Edelweiss.”

From Los Angeles Times

There, in the Morris Museum’s collection of mechanical musical instruments and automata, is a music box from around 1877.

From New York Times

But the insistence on its importance — it shows up instrumentally, and in its vocal form, and even in a music box as a ballerina twirls around — struck me as a perfect précis for the film.

From New York Times