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Original · left

Sandbox (play)

A shallow wooden enclosure filled with sand for children's outdoor recreation.

First in use: the 1800s
Duplicate · right

Sandbox (computing)

An isolated, tightly restricted testing environment used to run untrusted or suspect code without risking damage to the host system.

First in use: the 1990s

Sandbox / Sandbox (play) / Sandbox (computing)

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

A child's play area vs. isolation.

Which meaning of Sandbox is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Sandbox (play) came first (the 1800s). Sandbox (computing) arrived in the 1990s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Sandbox (play)Sandbox (computing)
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · the 1800s

Sandbox (play)

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Duplicate · the 1990s

Sandbox (computing)

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More duplicated terms

Programming & software