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PlainSpell

sandbox

sand·box/ˈsæn(d).bɑks/noun, verb

sandbox is spelled S-A-N-D-B-O-X: 7 letters and 2 syllables (sand·box). It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sandbox means “A children's play area consisting of a box filled with sand” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sandbox is sandboxes.

How many letters and syllables are in sandbox?

Letters7: S-A-N-D-B-O-X
Syllables2: sand·box
In writing1.0 times per million words; the 28,214th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is sandbox?

Sandbox appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th 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 sandbox?

  • UK /ˈsænd.bɒks/
  • US /ˈsæn(d).bɑks/

Sandbox has 2 syllables, split sand·box in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sandbox.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with sandbox

Also written: sand box (one word or two).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of sandbox

  • sandboxes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • sand box
  • sand-box
  • sandboxing participle, present
  • sandboxed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does sandbox mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    CanadaUSA children's play area consisting of a box filled with sand.

    Her children were playing in the sandbox.

  2. 2

    A box filled with sand that is shaped to form a mould for metal casting.

  3. 3

    A container for sand or pounce, used historically before blotting paper.

  4. 4

    An animal's litter box.

  5. 5

    A box carried on locomotives, from which sand runs onto the rails in front of the driving wheels, to prevent slipping.

  6. 6

    An isolated area where a program can be executed with a restricted portion of the resources available.

    Running a program in a sandbox can prevent it from doing any damage to the system.

  7. 7

    A page on a wiki where users are free to experiment without destroying or damaging any legitimate content.

  8. 8

    USslangThe Middle East.

verb

  1. 1

    To restrict (a program, etc.) by placing it in a sandbox.

  2. 2

    To brainstorm; to prototype.

    Their team has been sandboxing some ideas recently.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Sandbox in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbac à sable, carré de sable (box with sand for children – see also sandpit)
GermanSandkasten (box with sand for children – see also sandpit), Sandbox (computing: isolated program execution area), Spielwiese (wiki sandbox)
Portuguesecaixa de areia (box with sand for children – see also sandpit), zona de testes (wiki sandbox)
Spanisharenero, caja arenácea, caja arenosa, caja arenisca (box with sand for children – see also sandpit), arenillero, salvadera (container for sand or pounce, used for writing)

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 sandbox come from?

From sand + box.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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