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I'd like to create a flashcard for that thing below. But the longer I try to do so, the more confused I get. None of the words suggested for this box (mesh box, lattice box, barred box, skeleton container, iron-barred box) appears in a monolingual dictionary on the web (I got the English terms from ENG-GER dictionaries and tried to look them up via OneLook Dictionary search). There is no entry in the English version of Wikipedia for this type of box (strangely, only the German Wikipedia seems to have one, "Gitterbox"). But which of these words should I know as a learner? And what would be a good definition for this box?

enter image description here

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  • I think it's a framebox or a container of some sort. At least in Russia one would call it a container. If it's used in science then it could be a specimen container. It may be a cargo container.
    – SovereignSun
    Jul 12, 2017 at 17:43
  • I've also heard the bame "cargo cell"... And as far as I remember it looked something like this only it had a closed top.
    – SovereignSun
    Jul 12, 2017 at 17:44
  • Could you add a link to the item, or at least the German word for it? And what is it used for?
    – user3169
    Jul 12, 2017 at 21:29
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    The companies that sell containers of that nature call them "wire mesh containers". If you Google that term, you will find plenty of examples. Smaller ones are called "wire mesh bins".
    – fixer1234
    Jul 12, 2017 at 21:32
  • @user3169 Actually, I had to use these boxes twice at work: the frist time for temporarily storing folders inside them, the second time for taking out television sets that had to be recycled. So they are used for a lot of different things. As I had written in my post, there is a German Wikipedia article for it: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gitterbox
    – mondegreen dispenser
    Jul 12, 2017 at 21:56

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Huh. I've never thought about what this might be called. I would simply describe it an "open box with wire-mesh sides". It's possible the industry that uses something like this has a more specific jargon for it which new employees have to learn, but the average English speaker wouldn't know.

I guess the lesson is that not all objects or concepts have an exact name in English, even if they do in German. Like these, for example.

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    What about "wire mesh crate"?
    – ColleenV
    Jul 12, 2017 at 15:20
  • @ColleenV From the picture I can't tell what this thing is used for, but I think "crate" is fine since it looks like it's used to hold stuff. If it's a box that moves people around then you wouldn't say "crate".
    – Andrew
    Jul 12, 2017 at 15:24
  • The number on that particular picture makes me think it's used for some sort of automated goods handling. I assume the people equivalent would be a "basket elevator", so I did a quick image search for wire basket crate and it returned some interesting results, but not really an industrial weight basket like that one.
    – ColleenV
    Jul 12, 2017 at 16:18

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