wardrobe

[wawr-drohb]

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noun

a stock of clothes or costumes, as of a person or of a theatrical company.

a piece of furniture for holding clothes, now usually a tall, upright case fitted with hooks, shelves, etc.

a room or place in which to keep clothes or costumes.

the department of a royal or other great household charged with the care of wearing apparel.

a department in a motion-picture or television studio in charge of supplying and maintaining costumes: Report to wardrobe right after lunch.

verb (used with object), ward·robed, ward·rob·ing.

to provide with a wardrobe.

Origin of wardrobe

1250–1300; Middle English warderobe < Anglo-French. See ward (v.), robe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wardrobe

apparel, dresser, trunk, closet, attire, cupboard, commode, locker, buffet, rags, chest, bureau, threads, duds, clothing, chiffonier, ensembles, trousseau, togs

Examples from the Web for wardrobe

Contemporary Examples of wardrobe

If I was to build a wardrobe fit for a president, I needed to know what I was working with.
From Auschwitz to the White House: One Tailor’s American Tale
Martin Greenfield
December 5, 2014
He derived enormous satisfaction from some customers choosing to base the rest of their wardrobe around his socks.
The Hot Designer Who Hates Fashion: VK Nagrani Triumphs His Own Way
Tom Teodorczuk
December 1, 2014
The blame ultimately must fall on Kate's wardrobe team for failign to protect her from such continued and repeated embarrasments.
Kate. Sweetie. Get Some Hem Weights.
Tom Sykes
October 22, 2014
Jacqueline Kennedy helped change all that in the 1960s, with her unflappable chic and wardrobe full of haute couture.
How Oscar de la Renta Created First Lady Fashion
Raquel Laneri
October 21, 2014
He always wants to find little flourishes in her wardrobe that are her way of expressing herself in a rather conservative world.
How Carrie Preston Became The Good Wife’s Favorite Scene Stealer
Kevin Fallon
October 20, 2014

Historical Examples of wardrobe

Mechanically she took from the wardrobe a hooded cloak, put it about her, and left the room.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
Every rag of raiment that man has on he stole from my husband's wardrobe at the Hall.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
And there on the wardrobe shelves they lay throughout her visit.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume II
Mrs. Humphry Ward
We found the Regent dressing in the vault he used as his wardrobe.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon
They only kept a candle alight, standing on the ground behind the wardrobe.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for wardrobe

wardrobe

noun

a tall closet or cupboard, with a rail or hooks on which to hang clothes

the total collection of articles of clothing belonging to one person

the collection of costumes belonging to a theatre or theatrical company

Word Origin for wardrobe

C14: from Old Northern French warderobe, from warder to guard + robe robe

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

Word Origin and History for wardrobe

late 14c., "room where wearing apparel is kept," earlier "a private chamber" (c.1300), from Old North French warderobe, variant of Old French garderobe "place where garments are kept," from warder "to keep, guard" (see ward (v.)) + robe "garment" (see robe). Meaning "a person's stock of clothes for wearing" is recorded from c.1400. Sense of "movable closed cupboard for wearing apparel" is recorded from 1794. Meaning "room in which theatrical costumes are kept" is attested from 1711. Wardrobe malfunction is from 2004.