egg crate

Noun

egg crate (countable and uncountable, plural egg crates)

1. (countable) A crate used for transporting eggs.
   • I can recall many an evening sitting in the store with the store manager and perhaps also with the wife of a farmer until midnight when the saloon closed, waiting for the men to stop by for their cream cans, egg crates and wives.2013, Carleton Opgaard, From Country School to College President, →ISBN, page 15
2. (countable) An egg carton; A specialized container for eggs which has multiple indentations for holding individual eggs.
   • Place the plaque of conical molds, pointed side down, onto clean, empty, cardboard egg crates to support the molds so that they stand perfectly vertical.2009, Robert Wemischner, The Dessert Architect, →ISBN, page 275
3. (countable, lighting) A device for restricting the spread of light that fits into the softbox of a diffuser panel.
   • Happily this situation can be helped to a great extent by the use of grids called egg crates, which prevent the light from spreading too broadly.2012, Kris Malkiewicz, Film Lighting, →ISBN
   • Fabric grids or egg crates, such as those made by Lighttools, work much the same way for different sizes of softboxes. These egg crates restrict the direction of the light and how much it spreads across the entire surface of the softbox or subject.2013, Michael Grecco, Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait, →ISBN
4. (countable) A self-contained class that has no collaboration or interaction with any other class, and which is the sole responsibility of a single teacher.
   • Classrooms became larger, but the egg crate design was maintained.1976, Richard D. Fish, Bradley M. Loomer, Elementary Open-space Schools
   • Much like teachers are sometimes described as working in their separate little egg crates, school administrators can also be very isolated from one another.2009, Identifying the Needs of Beginning Elementary School, →ISBN, page 1
5. A foam pad with multiple indentations giving it a texture similar to that of an egg carton.
   • Typically, egg crates are covered with waterproof pads and then sheets.2012, Seth B. Goldsmith, Understanding Health Care Management, →ISBN, page 87
   • We were able to find some foam egg crates that would make her a bit more comfortable.2012, Joshua Bonilla, Samantha Ondyak, Olivia Smith, Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon, →ISBN, page 10
6. (countable) A surface or insert that has regularly spaced holes or indentations.
   • As you can see from the test reports, in the lower frequency ranges in particular, egg crates offer little value for absorption.2005, Ken A. Priebe, Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros, →ISBN, page 282
   • Ask most people what soundproofing is and they'll describe foam tiles, egg crates, or other treatments on the walls.2012, Jay Rose, Audio Postproduction for Film and Video, →ISBN
7. A grid-like support structure or scaffolding.
8. (countable) A style of open roof that consists of horizontal supports in a grid pattern.
   • Exterior shading devices can be either horizontal, vertical, or a combination of horizontal and vertical called “egg crates.”2013, Mark DeKay, G. Z. Brown, Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design Strategies, →ISBN, page 248