Definition of "hotbox" [hotbox]

• An axle or journal box, as on a railway car, that has become overheated by excessive friction. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The one problem they reported was keeping the temperature from fluctuating: the grill’s hotbox is metal, and the afternoon breezes tend to kick off the ocean, meaning they’re cold."
• "It was a "hotbox" in the summer and around 35 degrees in the winter."
• "Since Becquerel used selenium to experiment with photovoltaics in 1836, and Horace de Saussure captured solar heat in his homemade "hotbox" in 1767, the two disciplines of using solar energy to produce either electricity or hot water have remained separate."