musical box
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of musical box
First recorded in 1820–30
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.
The House of the Pelican by Elisabeth Kyle, tells the story of Janet, who cannot find the way back to the house where an old man showed her a valuable gold musical box.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
What are your thoughts on breaking the barrier of genre and not staying within a musical box?
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025
Woo hammers the loss with a deliberateness that feels desperate: oppressive blue gloom, a slumping Christmas tree with unopened presents, a twinkly musical box that evokes sadness.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2023
Britain's government sent Queen Elizabeth a specially-commissioned musical box to mark her platinum jubilee, depicting on its lid the black front door of the Prime Minister's Number 10 Downing Street office.
From Reuters • Jun. 9, 2022
To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a womout musical box.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
