Chinese boxes

plural noun

1. a matched set of boxes, usually elaborately decorated and decreasing in size so that each fits inside the next larger one.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Chinese boxes¹

First recorded in 1825–30

Example Sentences

International Trade Commission ruled Chinese imports had harmed domestic producers of big tool chests sold in retail stores, prompting the Trump administration to slap anti-subsidy duties of up to 95 percent on Chinese boxes.

From Reuters

International Trade Commission ruled Chinese imports had harmed domestic producers of big tool chests sold in retail stores, prompting the Trump administration to slap anti-subsidy duties of up to 95 percent on Chinese boxes.

From Reuters

In his review in The New York Times, Mel Gussow called it “a series of B-movie plots encased in Chinese boxes.”

From New York Times

This is folded and placed inside another pane of dough, which in turn is folded and placed inside another, and again, four, five, six times, like a series of Chinese boxes.

From New York Times

Chinese bureaucracy is like a series of Chinese boxes that are harder and harder to open as you move toward the center.

From New York Times