closet

[ kloz-it ]

/ ˈklɒz ɪt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: closet / closeted / closeting 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.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of closet

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

Words nearby closet

close season, close shave, close shot, close stitch, close-stool, closet, closet drama, closeted, closetful, close the books, close the door on

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use closet in a sentence

She opened closet doors, snapped light switches, hunted for stains on the carpet.
The stimulus relieved short-term pain, but eviction’s impact is a long haul|Kyle Swenson|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
The officers returned fire, fatally shooting the man in the closet who was later identified as Green.
U.S. marshal shot, hospitalized in Baltimore; suspect fatally shot|Justin Wm. Moyer, Emily Davies|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
So Wessel-Kroeschell, who has served in the statehouse since 2005, began her challenge to the speaker by looking inside her closet for the perfect pair of denim.
Iowa’s House speaker said he can’t make lawmakers wear masks — but he did enforce a ban on jeans|Teo Armus|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
If he leaves for college, Gross may bring one of his Capitals jerseys, so he’s reminded of his mom each time he opens his closet in his dorm room.
A sick mother, a loving son, a signed Ovechkin jersey — and how the Caps tried to help|Kyle Melnick|February 1, 2021|Washington Post

Read on to learn about some of our favorite products plus a few tips for finding the right model for you and your closet.
The Best Belt Racks To Keep Your Closet Organized|PopSci Commerce Team|January 22, 2021|Popular-Science
And Duke was a closet Nazi getting exposed by an avalanche of reporting.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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
I plainly heard a noise upon the cover of my closet like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it passed through the ring.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
He implored Agnes to save him, and this she did by secreting him in a hidden closet behind the huge chimney.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
But one chance he had, before supper was laid, of a word alone with his mother, in her own closet.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
Every chest of drawers, and wardrobe, and closet in the house was ransacked, to find bed-quilts and blankets for the army.
Mike Marble|Uncle Frank
The Spaniard's boat was lashed so that no mortal could get her clear, and the little craft was used as a sort of lumber-closet.
The Chequers|James Runciman

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with closet

closet

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

closet

Origin of closet

Words nearby closet

Words related to closet

How to use closet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for closet

Word Origin for closet

Other Idioms and Phrases with closet