matchbox
noun
matchbox is spelled M-A-T-C-H-B-O-X: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, matchbox means “A small box, usually a small cardboard box, in which matches are kept” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of matchbox is matchboxes.
How many letters and syllables are in matchbox?
| Letters | 8: M-A-T-C-H-B-O-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,187th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is matchbox?
Matchbox appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce matchbox?
Matchbox has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Aquild-matchbox.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-matchbox.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of matchbox
- matchboxes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matchbox mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small box, usually a small cardboard box, in which matches are kept.
- 2
Any small, die-cast toy car, usually a collectible.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Matchbox in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small cardboard box in which matches are kept:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | boîte d'allumettes |
| German | Streichholzschachtel |
| Portuguese | caixa de fósforo/fósforos |
| Spanish | fosforera, cerillero, caja de fósforos, caja de cerillas |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does matchbox come from?
From match + box.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).