What does "jack-in-the-box" mean?

Children’s toy consisting of a small box from which a male figure pops out unexpectedly after some turnings of a crank.

What is a synonym for "jack-in-the-box"?

Common synonyms include: ball, bat, battledore, bauble, block, checkerboard.

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Children’s toy consisting of a small box from which a male figure pops out unexpectedly after some turnings of a crank.
""Did you venture to call me a liar?" ("No, sir, no!" shouted the accused, and disappeared like a Jack-in-the-box.)"
2
plaything consisting of a toy clown that jumps out of a box when the lid is opened wordnet
3
A small but powerful kind of screw, used by burglars to break open safes. historical
"It was possible, from underneath, to use the old jack-in-the-box safe-breaker's tool which lay in his gasman's bag."
4
A con-man who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money. obsolete

"The child who delights in her jack-in-the-box may have been terrified the first time the puppet-on-a-spring popped out."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.