sandbox

[ sand-boks ]

/ ˈsændˌbɒks /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sandbox ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a box or receptacle for holding sand, especially one large enough for children to play in.

Computers. an environment in which software developers or editors can create and test new content, separate from other content in the project (often used attributively): sandbox web design; New features are tested and critiqued in the demo sandbox.

adjective

Digital Technology. noting or relating to a genre of video game with a nonlinear structure that allows players to roam freely.

Nearby words

Origin of sandbox

First recorded in 1565–75; sand + box¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sandbox

Wall Street gets to game the government; Republican big wigs get to mimic their masters in a sandbox of their own.
Wall Street Wolves Want to Bring their Big Bucks to the GOP Party|James Poulos|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
VIEW OUR EXCLUSIVE IMAGES of teensy motorcycle jackets, mini trench coats, and other highlights of sandbox style.
Gucci Debuts Kids' Line|Isabel Wilkinson|June 24, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Terrence shouted and hit the dirt behind a sandbox in the schoolyard as the Rumi resumed firing.
Narakan Rifles, About Face!|Jan Smith
The seeds of the sandbox (Hura crepitans) when bruised, operate powerfully as emetico-cathartic.
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom|P. L. Simmonds

Its barrenness was formerly much exaggerated, when it was popularly described as the “sandbox of the Holy Roman Empire.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4|Various
He wrote the words after the name, and shook the sandbox over the wet ink.
The New Magdalen|Wilkie Collins
Then there was the snug berth in the sandbox you could curl all up in.
Nibsy's Christmas|Jacob A. Riis

British Dictionary definitions for sandbox

sandbox

/ (ˈsændˌbɒks) /

noun

a container on a railway locomotive from which sand is released onto the rails to assist the traction

a box with sand shaped for moulding metal

a container of sand for small children to play in

computing a protected environment in which an untrusted program may be run without affecting other parts of the system

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sandbox

sandbox

also sand-box, 1570s as an instrument to sprinkle sand, from sand (n.) + box (n.1). From 1680s as "a box holding sand;" 1891 as a low-sided sand pit for children's play.