kitchen cabinet

American  

noun

1. a cupboard built into a kitchen or a chest of drawers for kitchen use, as for dishes and silverware.

2. a group of unofficial advisers on whom a head of government appears to rely heavily.

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kitchen cabinet British  

noun

1. a group of unofficial advisers to a political leader, esp when considered to be more influential than the official cabinet

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Etymology

Origin of kitchen cabinet

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

A kitchen cabinet had come undone, and I needed a bracket and some glue to piece it back together.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

Be honest with yourself: Are you really going to use the dusty waffle maker in your kitchen cabinet?

From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026

Haines joined Wilson's Downing Street operation in 1969 during his first term in office and went on to become part of the Labour leader's "kitchen cabinet" of close political advisers.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2025

Regardless of that choice, Mr. Biden’s kitchen cabinet of advisers is clear: The handful of people whom he has kept close throughout his first bid for the presidency and his time in office.

From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2023

He rested his head against the kitchen cabinet.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez