box staple

noun

1. a socket for holding the end of a lock bolt when the door is closed.

Word History and Origins

Origin of box staple¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

They have stopped buying peanut butter, a high-protein grocery box staple, since the price rose $10 a case.

From The Guardian

Turn a family signature into a jewelry box staple.

From Seattle Times

Take seaweed, which is fast becoming a lunch box staple, and even a stocking stuffer.

From Wall Street Journal

The carcass of the lock is of cast iron; the casting, like all the small American castings, is simply perfect; bosses are cast round the follower and keyholes; the box staple is one piece of metal, neat and strong.

From Project Gutenberg

It is one great obstacle to the general introduction of a reversible lock; it adds to the labor of fixing without adding to the security of the door, for if the door is to be forced from the outside, the box staples give way first; if from the inside, the unscrewing of the box staple is all that is necessary to give egress; if the door requires easing, it effectually prevents it being done—in fact, it is a nuisance, and nothing but a nuisance.

From Project Gutenberg