workbox

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a box for holding sewing, needlework, craft, or other work materials and tools

   She kept needles, thread, and scissors in a rosewood workbox.

2. 2
   noun

   figurative: a collection of methods, skills, or analytical tools

   Close reading became an essential method in the critic's workbox.

A compound of work + box. The older domestic sense of work often meant sewing or needlework, making a workbox a purpose-built container for thread, fabric, needles, and tools. The word later developed a figurative sense similar to toolkit: a set of useful methods or skills.

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