music box

American  

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.

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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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Etymology

Origin of music box

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

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

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 • Sep. 10, 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

This plain brown music box is therefore central to the ambivalence that lately surrounds Puccini, “Madama Butterfly” and “Turandot,” and the amorphous label of appropriation that has been applied to both.

From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2024

Hearing Rahim Khan speak Ali’s name was like finding an old dusty music box that hadn’t been opened in years; the melody began to play immediately: Who did you eat today, Babalu?

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini