cupboard

cupboard — noun

1. a free-standing or built-in container with one or more doors and shelves inside,

1.nounA2
Definition

a free-standing or built-in container with one or more doors and shelves inside, where you keep things such as food, kitchen tools, clothes, or household supplies

Example

Priya opened the kitchen cupboard to get a bowl for the soup.

collocation: kitchen cupboard

The cupboard in the hallway is full of winter coats and umbrellas.

prepositional phrase: cupboard in [room]

Common collocations
  • kitchen cupboard
  • bathroom cupboard
  • food cupboard
  • cupboard door
  • cupboard shelf
  • built-in cupboard
  • wall cupboard
  • cupboard under the stairs
Synonyms
  • cabinet

    often implies a more formal or specialised piece of furniture (e.g. filing cabinet, display cabinet), while 'cupboard' is the everyday storage term

  • closet

    the North American term for a built-in storage space; in British English, 'cupboard' covers this meaning

  • pantry

    specifically a room or large cupboard for storing food, not general household items

Antonyms
  • open shelf

    a shelf without a door, whereas a cupboard has doors that close

Usage Note

In British English, 'cupboard' can also refer to a built-in wall storage space where American English typically uses 'closet'. A 'kitchen cupboard' is understood the same way in both varieties.

Common Mistakes

We keep food in the wardrobe.
We keep food in the cupboard.
'Wardrobe' is for hanging clothes only; 'cupboard' is for general storage, especially food and household items.
Idioms

the cupboard is bare

idiom

used to say that there is no food, money, or other supplies left

We need to go shopping — the cupboard is bare and there is nothing for dinner tonight.

cupboard love

idiom

Affection shown by someone, often a child, only to get something they want.

Maya gave her dad a big hug, but it was just cupboard love for candy.

Is your cat's purring cupboard love because she wants food?

a skeleton in the cupboard

idiom

A secret from the past that is shocking or embarrassing and that someone wants to hide.

Every family has a skeleton in the cupboard, like Uncle Joe's old scandal.

The politician tried to keep his skeleton in the cupboard, but reporters found out.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three words describe storage spaces, but they differ in scope and region. 'Cupboard' is the broadest everyday term, especially in British English: it covers freestanding kitchen units, built-in wall storage, and any shelved space behind doors. 'Cabinet' tends to be more specific or formal — a 'filing cabinet' holds documents, a 'display cabinet' shows off fine china, and a 'medicine cabinet' hangs in a bathroom. In North American English, 'closet' is the usual word for a built-in storage space (a 'hall closet' or 'walk-in closet'), whereas in Britain that same space is often called a 'cupboard'. 'Pantry' is narrower still: it refers to a room or large cupboard dedicated to food supplies. For example: 'We keep tinned beans in the pantry, the plates in the kitchen cupboard, and winter coats in the hall cupboard.'

cabinet ↗closet ↗pantry

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cupboard door
  • cupboard space
  • cupboard lock
  • cupboard handle

Phrases

  • cupboard under the stairs
  • kitchen cupboard
  • bedroom cupboard
  • built-in cupboard

Prepositions

  • in the cupboard
  • on the cupboard shelf
  • inside the cupboard

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'cupboard' comes from Middle English 'cupborde' (around 1300), a combination of 'cup' and 'board' (table). It originally meant a side table or board on which cups and dishes were placed for serving. By the 1500s it had come to mean a closed cabinet with shelves, which is the meaning we use today.