# egg crate
## English
### Alternative forms

* eggcrate
* egg-crate
* egg-crating
* egg crating

### Noun

egg crate (countable and uncountable, plural egg crates)
* (countable) A crate used for transporting eggs.
** 2013, Carleton Opgaard, From Country School to College President, →ISBN, page 15: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.
* (countable) An egg carton; A specialized container for eggs which has multiple indentations for holding individual eggs.
** 2009, Robert Wemischner, The Dessert Architect, →ISBN, page 275: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.
* (countable, lighting) A device for restricting the spread of light that fits into the softbox of a diffuser panel.
** 2012, Kris Malkiewicz, Film Lighting, →ISBN: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.
** 2013, Michael Grecco, Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait, →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, Christian Hough, Studio Photography and Lighting: Art and Techniques, →ISBN, page 1-47:Egg crates are for use with softboxes. They fit into the front of the softbox over the diffuser panel. Their job is similar to that of the honeycomb grid, in that they are there to help restrict the spread of the light, giving you more directional control and less spill, whilst still maintaining a soft light.
* (countable, education) A self-contained class that has no collaboration or interaction with any other class, and which is the sole responsibility of a single teacher.
** 1976, Richard D. Fish, Bradley M. Loomer, Elementary Open-space Schools:Classrooms became larger, but the egg crate design was maintained.
** 2009, Identifying the Needs of Beginning Elementary School, →ISBN, page 1:Much like teachers are sometimes described as working in their separate little egg crates, school administrators can also be very isolated from one another.
** 2003, Gail Bush, The School Buddy System: The Practice of Collaboration, →ISBN, page 20:Lortie coined the phrase "egg crate school," which refers to a type of organization wherein "each teacher was assigned specific areas of responsibility and was expected to teach students the stipulated knowledge and skills without assistance from others."
** 2013, William Powell, Ochan Kusuma-Powell, Becoming an Emotionally Intelligent Teacher, →ISBN, page 152:Egg crates are a much less satisfactory model for schools.
* (countable, uncountable) A foam pad with multiple indentations giving it a texture similar to that of an egg carton.
** 2012, Seth B. Goldsmith, Understanding Health Care Management, →ISBN, page 87:Typically, egg crates are covered with waterproof pads and then sheets.
** 2012, Joshua Bonilla, Samantha Ondyak, Olivia Smith, Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon, →ISBN, page 10:We were able to find some foam egg crates that would make her a bit more comfortable.
** 2014, Gene Shirley Richey, Dancing My Way Through Hell!, →ISBN, page 80:This suite left a lasting impression on me due to the egg crates (foam mattresses) on the beds.
* (countable) A surface or insert that has regularly spaced holes or indentations.
** 2005, Ken A. Priebe, Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros, →ISBN, page 282:As you can see from the test reports, in the lower frequency ranges in particular, egg crates offer little value for absorption.
** 2012, Jay Rose, Audio Postproduction for Film and Video, →ISBN:Ask most people what soundproofing is and they'll describe foam tiles, egg crates, or other treatments on the walls.
** 2015, Michael Ermann, Architectural Acoustics Illustrated, →ISBN, page 236:In lieu of volume extractors that protrude into the main duct airflow, use flow straighteners (honeycomb grids or “egg crates”) in the necks of short-length take-offs that lead directly to terminal devices.
* A grid-like support structure or scaffolding.
* (countable) A style of open roof that consists of horizontal supports in a grid pattern.
** 2013, Mark DeKay, G. Z. Brown, Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design Strategies, →ISBN, page 248:Exterior shading devices can be either horizontal, vertical, or a combination of horizontal and vertical called “egg crates.”

#### Translations
### Verb

egg crate (third-person singular simple present egg crates, present participle egg crating, simple past and past participle egg crated)
* Alternative form of egg-crate
** 1954 October, Wayne C. Leckey, “Modernize Your Home With Translucent Panels -- A New Woven-Glass Building Material”, in Popular Mechanics, volume 102, number 4, page 184:Photos on opposite page show how material is applied to "egg crate" framework in making this installation
** 1964, Nuclear Engineering - Volume 9, page 277:The hull is built on a conventional transverse framing system except for the inner bottom which is "egg crated" below the reactor compartment, located amidships between two upright partitions made of heavy steel.
** 1996, Mary E. Gardiner, Parent-School Collaboration, →ISBN, page 66:And schools, in line with their management practices, have tended to be “egg crated” into separate classes, grade levels, tracks, and departments (Page 1990).