Showing results for matchbox. Search instead for Match+box.

matchbox

American

[mach-boks] / ˈmætʃˌbɒks /

noun

a small box, usually of cardboard, for matches.

matchbox British

/ ˈmætʃˌbɒks /

noun

a small box for holding matches

"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

Etymology

Origin of matchbox

First recorded in 1780–90; match ¹ + box ¹

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.

These so-called inertial navigation units, which range from the size of a matchbox to that of a Kleenex box, can be made for use in the air, on land, underground or underwater.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Her first illusion was turning a penny into a dime using a matchbox.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025

The party turned out to be on a roof that could be accessed only through a window too small to fit the matchbox.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025

It passed people selling sculptures and paintings and bouquets and sunglasses and multicolored matchbox cars.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 11, 2023

Not looking at Mo and Elinor either, he put a hand in his pants pocket and brought out a matchbox.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023