cupboard
Americannoun
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cupboards
plural
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a closet with shelves for dishes, cups, etc.
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Chiefly British. any small closet or cabinet, as for clothes, food, or the like.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cupboard
First recorded in 1275–1325, cupboard is from the Middle English word cuppebord. See cup, board
Explanation
A cupboard is a piece of furniture that's used for storing things. Your kitchen cupboard might actually be full of cups, while the cupboard in your bedroom might hold sweaters and socks. Some cupboards are built into a wall, like a closet, while others are freestanding cabinets. A cupboard usually has doors that open and shelves inside, for storage. The very earliest cupboards, in the 14th century, were exactly what the word describes: a board or table used for putting cups or dishes on. Over the following two hundred years, cupboard came to mean an enclosed cabinet for the same purpose.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And they need every dollar to fill out a bare cupboard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The small kitchen retains its midcentury charm, but open shelving above the counter provides an airier, more contemporary cupboard to show off Miranda-Martin’s dish and glassware collection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Face paint stored safely in the cupboard ready for kick-off against Croatia?
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
Every time I take one out of the cupboard in the morning, I’m taken back to that trip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
“It’s a big place. It would have a big pantry, big cupboard, big freezer. If it’s as empty as it looks...”
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
"The bed almost flipped over. Tables and all the things on the tables and on top of the cupboards all fell and scattered everywhere," she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The quake occurred at 8:10 a.m. and was strong enough to knock items off shelves and out of cupboards, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
For the hardware, the couple will be replacing the existing silver-toned metal with gold, including new faucets, new drawer handles, and new knobs for the cupboards.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
It also inspired a Peacock streaming show in which Swedes visit America to counsel people who can’t cram anything more into their closets and cupboards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
She bends down and rummages in one of the cupboards behind her desk until she pulls out a bag of pretzels.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
