closet

[ kloz-it ]

/ ˈklɒz ɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR closet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small room, enclosed recess, or cabinet for storing clothing, food, utensils, etc.

a small private room, especially one used for prayer, meditation, etc.

a state or condition of secrecy or carefully guarded privacy: Some conservatives remain in the closet except on election day. Gay liberation has encouraged many gay people to come out of the closet.

water closet.

adjective

private; secluded.

suited for use or enjoyment in privacy: closet reflections; closet prayer.

engaged in private study or speculation; speculative; unpractical: a closet thinker with no practical experience.

being or functioning as such in private; secret: a closet anarchist.

verb (used with object)

to shut up in a private room for a conference, interview, etc. (usually used in the passive voice): The secretary of state was closeted with the senator for three hours in a tense session.

QUIZZES

IT’S A WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ BONANZA!

This windfall of words will make you rich with knowledge. Mine your memory on the words from July 27 to August 2!

Question 1 of 7

What does "scattergood" mean?

a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.

a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.

a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of closet

1300–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French, equivalent to clos close (noun) + -et -et

Words nearby closet

closedown, closefisted, closemouthed, closeout, closer, closet, closet drama, closet queen, closeted, closetful, closeup

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for closet

One night in 2004, my college boyfriend called me from inside a closet in a north Toronto housing project.
Bobby Shmurda and Rap’s Ultimate Hoop Dream|Rawiya Kameir|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But once Kanye came along, Kim had to literally clean out her closet.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s Balmain Campaign: High Fashion Meets Low Culture|Amy Zimmerman|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When I was in the closet in my twenties, I considered suicide almost every day.
Do LGBTs Owe Christians an Olive Branch? Try The Other Way Around|Jay Michaelson|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It should be possible to make an interesting film in a closet with the door shut.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Hanley was forced to come out of the closet and resign all at once.
Headmasters Behaving Badly|Emily Shire|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He and Gipsy are this moment devouring my lady's marmalade in the closet.
The Beaux-Stratagem|George Farquhar
She went into her bedroom, and divesting herself of her apron hung it in the closet.
Murder in Any Degree|Owen Johnson
The closet was filled with women's clothing of all kinds, and styles.
The Eyes Have It|Gordon Randall Garrett
There was a closet between the two rooms: Wood bored a hole in the panel, and peeped through.
Catherine: A Story|William Makepeace Thackeray
On the side of the pantry opposite this closet are two cup-boards, with doors and shelves above and below.
Convenient Houses|Louis Henry Gibson

British Dictionary definitions for closet

closet

/ (ˈklɒzɪt) /

noun

a small cupboard or recess

a small private room

short for water closet

(modifier) private or secret

(modifier) suited or appropriate for use in privatecloset meditations

(modifier) US and Canadian based on or devoted to theory; speculativea closet strategist

verb -ets, -eting or -eted

(tr) to shut up or confine in a small private room, esp for conference or meditation

Word Origin for closet

C14: from Old French, from clos enclosure; see close 1

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

Idioms and Phrases with closet

closet

see come out of the closet; skeleton in the closet.

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

closet