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Definition of breadbox
breadbox
/ˈbrɛd.bɑːks/
bread · box
Plural:breadboxes
breadbox Lexical Profile
CEFR
B2
Grade
4
Tier
2
Usage
Top 10k
breadbox Game Scores & Validity
Scrabble US
Scrabble UK
WWF
Wordle Guess
• noun
1
North American A container typically kept on a kitchen counter, designed for storing bread and other baked goods to keep them fresh and protect them from pests.
Example
"She placed the freshly baked sourdough loaf into the wooden breadbox on the kitchen counter."
Synonyms
View all synonyms for breadboxWord Nuance & Usage
The term is most famously associated with the mid-20th-century parlor game question 'Is it bigger than a breadbox?', popularized by Steve Allen on the American television show 'What's My Line?' to establish a baseline for an object's size.
• Rhymes for breadbox
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
An American English compound word formed by combining 'bread' and 'box', first recorded in the late 19th century to describe a standard kitchen container designed to keep baked goods fresh.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Breadbox. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 17, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/breadbox