cupboard

[kuhb-erd]

noun

1. a closet with shelves for dishes, cups, etc.

2. Chiefly British.,  any small closet or cabinet, as for clothes, food, or the like.

cupboard

/ ˈkʌbəd /

noun

1. a piece of furniture or a recessed area of a room, with a door concealing storage space

Word History and Origins

Origin of cupboard¹

First recorded in 1275–1325, cupboard is from the Middle English word cuppebord. See cup, board

Example Sentences

Ultra-processed foods are defined as containing more than five ingredients which you would not find at home in your kitchen cupboard, such as emulsifiers, preservatives, additives, dyes and sweeteners.

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It is testimony to the enduring skill of the striker, who last played for England seven years ago, but also suggests the cupboard is worryingly bare.

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It landed just as shoppers were loading up on boxed meals and non-perishable eats, a dissonance that feels almost poetic: a culture clinging to glamour even as the cupboards start to echo.

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The cupboard is still not overflowing with ready-made alternatives for England's record goalscorer.

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"How can a file in the Criminal Investigation Department move up and down, or remain stuck for seven or eight years in a cupboard?" he asked during a speech marking anti-corruption day.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• closet 
• locker 
• sideboard 
• storeroom