Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A box in which something, such as hides or fruit, is fermented by sweating.
  • noun Slang A confined place where a person sweats, especially.
  • noun An interrogation room.
  • noun A prison cell used for special punishment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any box or boxlike structure used to induce sweating, such as of hides or tobacco
  • noun US, slang A prison cell
  • noun slang A small nightclub packed to capacity where people get hot and sweaty.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a device that causes tobacco leaves or fruit or hides to sweat
  • noun small or narrow cell

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

sweat +‎ box

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Examples

  • 'I don't think the confines of a sweatbox are a very clever environment to honk up in.'

    Dead Famous Elton, Ben 2001

  • Since I lived in a fourth floor walk-up converted attic affectionately known as the sweatbox, I spent a lot of time on the first floor in Booge and Jarhead's dorm room.

    unknown title 2009

  • This special snowflake of the earth is very, very upset about the backlash after james ray's "sweatbox" in sedona.

    wwt, where t= tantrum. karnythia 2010

  • D'Evelyn said sheriff's deputies at the scene learned those injured had been part of a larger group housed in a "sweatbox" type structure on the property.

    unknown title 2009

  • Police are conducting a homicide investigation into "sweatbox" deaths

    CNN.com 2009

  • Two people died and were 19 injured after spending up to two hours inside this "sweatbox" at an Arizona resort.

    CNN.com 2009

  • info on the coveted "sweatbox" is given and all people can do is complain about stealing bandwidth? get a life!

    The Hidden Documentary Steve Hulett 2007

  • So the local authorities have been busy investigating James Arthur Ray and his sweatbox, and some of the documents and details have been released to the media and public.

    still more on james arthur ray 2009

  • La Macarena is Barcelona's underground gem – a diminutive, subterranean, rough-around-the-edges sweatbox of a club.

    Leo Pollock's 10 best clubs in Barcelona 2011

  • La Macarena is Barcelona's underground gem – a diminutive, subterranean, rough-around-the-edges sweatbox of a club.

    Leo Pollock's 10 best clubs in Barcelona 2011

Comments

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  • In stamp collecting, a closed box containing dampened spongelike material, over which unused stamps that have become stuck together are placed on a grill. Humidity softens the adhesive and allows the stamps to be separated. A sweatbox is also used to remove used stamps from envelope paper.

    August 26, 2008

  • 'Stan slipped out of the sweatbox, quietly parted the curtains, stepped into the comparatively cooler air of the main tent, and sauntered over toward the soft drink stand.'

    - Nightmare Alley, William Lindsay Gresham

    June 30, 2012