window box

noun

1. a box for growing plants, placed at or in a window.
2. a hollow space in a window frame for a sash weight.

window box

noun

1. a long narrow box, placed on or outside a windowsill, in which plants are grown
2. either of a pair of vertical boxes, attached to the sides of a sash window frame, that enclose a sash cord and counterbalancing weight

Word History and Origins

Origin of window box¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

They’re a favorite of cool-weather gardeners, and you’ll often find them in public parks, window boxes, and decorative planters—although those aren’t the best places to browse for a snack.

From Popular-Science

Here, two sixtyish men bashing in an ornamental wooden window box, one using a flagpole.

From ProPublica

I invest in the plants that are told me to be best adapted to window-box culture.

From Project Gutenberg

Patsy stamped slowly up the two flights, and rummaged in a very mussy window-box for a silk waist.

From Project Gutenberg

Upon finishing the note an impulse to accompany it with a small nosegay culled from my window box came upon me.

From Project Gutenberg

A window-box of narcissus in full bloom breathed a perfume, as deadening as the juice of poppies, on the air.

From Project Gutenberg

It was the window-box of a factory lad in one of the great northern manufacturing towns.

From Project Gutenberg