sound box

noun

1
: a hollow chamber in a musical instrument for increasing its sonority
2
: a device in an early phonograph for producing sound from a record by using the vibration of a needle to move a diaphragm

Examples of sound box in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Brothers returned to some elements of the music from the 1980 Stanley Kubrick adaptation of The Shining — which King famously hated — like a Gregorian chant from the 1400s, but brought in new elements to voice the vibe of the True Knot, like a hurdy-grande, a 25-foot-long wooden sound box. Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2021 The sound waves get trapped in what is something like a giant sound box, reflecting and amplifying the sound of the tumbling grains of sand. Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 2 May 2021 Modern readers are more intelligent, but just for the stragglers, a zither is a flat, stringed instrument, like a guitar with a shallower sound box and no neck. David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Aug. 2022 Come Tuesday night, United Supermarkets Arena will be an ear-splitting sound box filled with vengeance-seeking Red Raiders fans. Nick Moyle, San Antonio Express-News, 31 Jan. 2022 In rhapsodic words attributed to the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Rumi on the metaphysical benefits of self-denial, If the sound box is stuffed full of anything, no music. Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 19 Nov. 2020 The sound box of the instrument was incrusted with carnelian, lapis lazuli, and mother-of-pearl. National Geographic, 22 May 2019 It was made of maple, with a hollow sound box and tuning pegs made of ash. Roff Smith, National Geographic, 8 May 2019 The mbira consists of a set of steel tines suspended over a sound box. Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 17 Sep. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sound box.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1875, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sound box was circa 1875

Dictionary Entries Near sound box

Cite this Entry

“Sound box.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sound%20box. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

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