shadow box

noun

1. a shallow, rectangular frame fronted with a glass panel, used to show and at the same time protect items on display, as paintings, coins, or jewelry.

shadow-box

verb

1. boxing to practise blows and footwork against an imaginary opponent

2. to act or speak unconvincingly, without saying what one means, etc

   he's just shadow-boxing

Other Word Forms

• shadow-boxing noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shadow box¹

First recorded in 1905–10