drawer

American  

[drawr, draw-er] / drɔr, ˈdrɔ ər /

noun

1. a sliding, lidless, horizontal compartment, as in a piece of furniture, that may be drawn draw out in order to gain access to it.

2. (used with a plural verb) drawers, an undergarment, with legs, that covers the lower part of the body.

3. a person or thing that draws.

4. Finance. a person who draws an order, draft, or bill of exchange.

5. Metalworking. a person who operates a drawbench.

6. a tapster.

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drawer British  

/ ˈdrɔːə /

noun

1. a person or thing that draws, esp a draughtsman

2. a person who draws a cheque See draw

3. a person who draws up a commercial paper

4. archaic a person who draws beer, etc, in a bar

5. a boxlike container in a chest, table, etc, made for sliding in and out

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drawer Idioms  

1. see top drawer.

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Other Word Forms

• predrawer noun
• redrawer noun

Etymology

Origin of drawer

1300–50, 1580–90 drawer for def. 1, 1560–70 drawer for def. 2; Middle English; draw, -er ¹

Explanation

A drawer is a sliding compartment that fits into a dresser and is used for storage. You might keep socks in one drawer and t-shirts in another. Dressers have drawers, and so do other pieces of furniture, including desks, bureaus, and kitchen cabinets. Your kitchen drawers might be full of silverware, while the drawers in your office are a jumble of pens, paper clips, and Post-It notes. Drawer comes from the verb draw, from its "pull" meaning — the original idea of the word was that it's a container that's "drawn" out of a cabinet.

Example Sentences

It had been tucked away in a museum drawer for decades as it was thought to have been an unremarkable specimen.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

As for this $150,000: It’s better off in your bank account than in a drawer.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026

People lose their mail when it “gets stuck behind a drawer, not when they intentionally throw it away.”

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026

Added to a pantry pasta when you realize the crisper drawer is a lost cause.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026

Glenn had stuck the puff adder in the drawer and sawed the plank to be Tansy’s hero?

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck