closet

C2+ Topic:House & Home

US /ˈklɑzət/ UK /ˈklɒzɪt/ See IPA manual

noun verb adj

Meanings

1

noun
a small enclosed storage room; to shut away in private

He kept his old letters locked in a hall closet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small enclosed storage... cupboard cabinet wardrobecubbyholepress

Word family

Derived forms closeted

Related forms close enclose cloister

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French closet 'small enclosure', a diminutive of clos 'enclosure', from Latin clausum 'enclosed space', from claudere 'to shut'.

closet Old French clausum Latin claudere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

House & Home

# closet

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈklɑzət
**IPA (UK):** ˈklɒzɪt

## Meanings
1. a small enclosed storage room; to shut away in private

## Examples
- He kept his old letters locked in a hall closet.

## Synonyms
- cupboard
- cabinet
- wardrobe
- cubbyhole
- press

## Derived Forms
- closeted

## Related Forms
- close
- enclose
- cloister

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: closet
- Root: clausum
- Root: claudere

## Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French closet 'small enclosure', a diminutive of clos 'enclosure', from Latin clausum 'enclosed space', from claudere 'to shut'.

## AI Etymology
Closet is from Middle English, from Old French closet 'small enclosure', a diminutive of clos 'enclosure', from Latin clausum 'enclosed space', from claudere 'to shut'. Important recorded forms include closet (Old French), clausum (Latin), and claudere (Latin). The current sense covers a small enclosed storage room; to shut away in private. The wider family includes derived forms such as closeted and related words such as close, enclose, and cloister.

## Topics
- House & Home

markdown

closet

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback