shadow box

American  

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.

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shadow-box British  

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

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Other Word Forms

• shadow-boxing noun

Etymology

Origin of shadow box

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

All the while, Ryder continued to shadow box and wait patiently.

From BBC • May 7, 2023

But here he was, on stage at the Potomac Ballroom, his photograph trapped in a shadow box half the size of the portrait of Donald Trump hanging above.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2023

The photos sit in a sort of shadow box with the glass covering looking almost as if it has been pressed outward and fractured.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 18, 2022

In an upstairs office, they keep a shadow box filled with ribbons and articles, highlighted by a July 2012 Swimming World Magazine profile with a smiling Marciano, braces and all.

From New York Times • Aug. 18, 2021

The big stones formed a sort of shadow box, causing the markings to appear in bold relief.

From Tom Slade on Mystery Trail by Owen, R. Emmett (Robert Emmett)