bottom drawer

American

[drawr] / drɔr /

noun

British.

any drawer used for a hope chest.

bottom drawer British

noun

US and Canadian equivalent: hope chest. a young woman's collection of clothes, linen, cutlery, etc, in anticipation of marriage

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bottom drawer

First recorded in 1885–90

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:

bottom drawer

"I don't want it to be a doorstop or in the bottom drawer, I want it to be on the mantelpiece."

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025

The left of the bottom drawer is all cheese and dairy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2023

The heart-stories behind the mailboxes are discreetly pasted, painted, hammered and welded into their forms like love letters secreted into the false bottom drawer of a writing desk.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023

It was an idea that I had sort of in the bottom drawer.

From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2022

Then I sat on the carpet, right in front of my dresser, and opened the bottom drawer.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023