: a coin-operated phonograph or compact-disc player that automatically plays recordings selected from its list
Cable TV … is now bringing you an all-music-video network that is the TV equivalent of a barroom jukebox.—Peter Ainslie
broadly : any automatic music player that plays selections from a publicly available list

Examples of jukebox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While the main chalet offers space for family gatherings—long dinners prepared on a La Cornue range followed by listening sessions with music from a vintage jukebox in the playroom—the wellness zone on the lower level invites a slower rhythm. — Michael James Gardner, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2026 Snodgrass has posted restaurant fixtures for sale on Facebook and Facebook Marketplace, including booths, tables, non-working booth jukeboxes and a scoreboard used in the decor. — Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Sep. 2026 That everyone commits so fearlessly — and with such straight faces — to the Zellners’ berserk world-building is a joy to behold, aided by a terrific jukebox soundtrack and a chaotic, entropic plot that builds and builds to insane levels of carnage. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026 Almost every station in town is basically a jukebox with commercials on the weekend. — Richard Wagoner, Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for jukebox

Word History

Etymology

from dialect jukehouse brothel, from juke to have sexual intercourse with, of Atlantic Creole origin; akin to Jamaican English juk to poke, stab, Krio chuk

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jukebox was in 1939

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Jukebox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jukebox. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Kids Definition

: a coin-operated phonograph or compact-disc player that automatically plays recordings selected from its list

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