Definition of "sand-box" []

• A box with a perforated top or cover for sprinkling paper with sand. (noun)
• A box filled with sand, usually placed, in American locomotives, on top of the boiler and in front of the driving-wheel, with a pipe to guide the sand to the rail when the wheels slip owing to frost, wet, etc. See cut under passenger-engine. (noun)
• A tree, Hura crepitans. (noun)
• A box to hold a small quantity of foundry-sand for molders' use, placed near the flask or the molding-machine. In use the sand box is often above the molding-machine, so that the sand may be delivered by gravity as required. (noun)
• In a street-car, a box or other receptacle for holding sand used in sprinkling the rails to obtain a better adhesion for the wheels. It is usually fitted with a delivery-pipe and valve controlled by the motorman. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "GTA IV, with its free-roaming environment, was called a "sand-box" game, and perhaps Red Dead Redemption is the first "dust-box" game."
• "Play by the rules or go find your own sand-box! ben"
• "She talks of a new way of doing things and reaching out to people who disagree with us, then turns the west wing into a playground sand-box for her husband Bill."