snuffbox

[ snuhf-boks ]

noun

1. a box for holding snuff, especially one small enough to be carried in the pocket.

snuffbox

/ ˈsnʌfˌbɒks /

noun

1. a container, often of elaborate ornamental design, for holding small quantities of snuff

Word History and Origins

Origin of snuffbox¹

First recorded in 1680–90; snuff ¹ + box ¹

Example Sentences

Duncan Campbell, an expert and silver specialist on the show, said the snuffbox was the first all-English silver he had seen in his career.

From BBC

When Benjamin Franklin departed as minister to France, King Louis XVI presented him with a snuffbox encrusted with 408 diamonds and inset with the king’s portrait.

From Washington Post

She left a few things inside the hole: a precious box of matches, some glass beads that had come off Aunt Shuvai’s bracelet, some of the copper wire Uncle Kufa used to decorate his snuffboxes.

From Literature

Aristocratic diplomats and businessmen competed by exchanging elaborately decorated snuffboxes, often of painted porcelain, sometimes of gold.

From Salon

In the books, this is the rather difficult art of changing one thing into another — a mouse into a snuffbox or a hedgehog into a pincushion.

From New York Times