- a piece of furniture with doors and shelves used for storing dishes, food, clothes, etc.
- kitchen cupboards
- a stationery/linen cupboard
- a cupboard door
- There's plenty of food in the cupboards.
- I found it hidden in the back of a cupboard.
Extra ExamplesTopics Houses and homesa2- Do you have much cupboard space in your new house?
- The cupboard was full of old spices.
- We had some new cupboard units fitted in the kitchen.
- She opened the cupboard door above the sink.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- deep
- large
- …
- close
- open
- look in
- …
- be full of something
- door
- space
- in a/the cupboard
- (British English) (North American English closet)a space in a wall with a door that reaches the ground, used for storing things
- The kitchen has built-in cupboards and shelves.
- The toolkit is in the cupboard under the stairs.
- a store cupboard
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- deep
- large
- …
- close
- open
- look in
- …
- be full of something
- door
- space
- in a/the cupboard
Word Originlate Middle English (denoting a table or sideboard on which cups, plates, etc. were displayed): from cup + board.
Idioms
See cupboard in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarythe cupboard is bare
- (British English) used to say that there is no money for something
- They are seeking more funds but the cupboard is bare.
cupboard love
- (British English, old-fashioned) love that somebody, especially a child, shows towards somebody else in order to get something
a skeleton in the cupboard (British English)
(also a skeleton in the closet North American English, British English)
- (informal) something shocking, embarrassing, etc. that has happened to you or your family in the past that you want to keep secret
Check pronunciation:
cupboard