sandbox

noun

sand·​box ˈsan(d)-ˌbäks 

1

: a box or receptacle containing loose sand

especially : a box that contains sand for children to play in

2

: a place, area, or environment that provides opportunities for variation and experimentation in a way suggestive of children playing in a sandbox

The Suttle Lodge is not a full-service hotel. Instead, it is better thought of as a sandbox: it provides all the amenities for you to create your own ideal experience.

—Lance Richardson

: such as

a

: a video game or part of a video game in which the player is not constrained to achieving specific goals and has a large degree of freedom to explore, interact with, or modify the game environment

… Untitled Goose Game is a sandbox in which objectives sometimes feel more like suggestions. I still want to get back in there and just mess with people more—see what happens when I get certain characters to chase me into certain areas, or if others will react to particular items.

—Nathan Grayson

—often used before another noun

a sandbox game

Video games played in sandbox mode, or purpose-built sandbox games, allow the player access to the whole world (the box) at once, and allow her to change that world at will (the sand). There is no preset narrative to force the player to run, hide, or shoot, and no marauders to destroy what she has built.

—Alexandra Lange

b

: an isolated environment on an electronic device (such as a computer) within which applications cannot affect other programs or data on the device

Software development often occurs inside a sandbox, defined as a confined virtual environment in which one or several developers can freely and safely experiment with untested code and new technologies.

—Janine Gianfredi

Businesses should add an application to their email systems that tags all emails containing a link or attachment. If an employee clicks on the link or attachment, the application launches it in a safe digital environment, called a sandbox, preventing any malicious application from infecting the employee's device or any others connected to it.

—Cameron G. Shilling

c

business : a controlled environment supervised by a regulatory authority within which existing regulations are relaxed or removed to allow businesses to more freely experiment with new products and services

The sandbox enables the development of telemedicine services with close monitoring of all aspects of safety, including clinical processes, medication delivery and data protection, while co-creating the appropriate regulations.

—Raymond Chua

Other efforts of Carolina Fintech Hub include finding ways to leverage the local supplies of venture capital and corporate capital to help good ideas grow. The organization is working with the North Carolina General Assembly members to bring forth a first-of-its-kind fintech sandbox, which would create a business-friendly environment for fintech startup activity.

—Charlotte Business Journal (North Carolina)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The second part allowed attackers to escape Apple’s sandbox, which keeps apps from accessing data stored by other apps and from accessing other parts of the device. —WIRED, 21 Feb. 2023

As a child, you’re put in a sandbox and you’re given tools to tap into your imagination and create whatever elements come to you—shapes, patterns, structures. —Celia Ellenberg, Vogue, 19 Apr. 2022

The child was playing in a sandbox around 5:30 p.m. on Cutter Hill Road when the coyote approached and bit him on the leg, , according to a statement from local police and health officials. —BostonGlobe.com, 16 Aug. 2021

Of course if that is too much structure, users can always play in the ‘sandbox’. —Carolyn Graybeal, Discover Magazine, 22 Feb. 2015

At the same time, Moscow introduced a regulatory sandbox for the development of AI applications with the participation of large IT companies, exempting authorities from the country’s already lax data protection requirements. —WIRED, 6 Feb. 2023

The researchers then used a more advanced AI service called Codex to develop other types of malware, including a reverse shell and scripts for port scanning, sandbox detection, and compiling their Python code to a Windows executable. —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 6 Jan. 2023

In other words, most of our gadgets will now play nicely together in the sandbox. —Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2023

And that information really gives us this huge sandbox to develop insights, hopefully unique insights. —CBS News, 23 Nov. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

sandbox

noun

sand·​box -ˌbäks 

: a box for holding sand especially for children to play in