1. A small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
   "She reached into the kitchen closet for a can of soup";
   - cupboard
    
2. A tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
   "He built a custom closet for their bedroom";
   - wardrobe, press
    
3. A small private room for study or prayer
   "He retreated to his closet to meditate"
    
4. [archaic] A room or building equipped with one or more toilets
   "He excused himself to use the water closet";
   - toilet, lavatory, lav [informal], can [N. Amer, informal], john [informal], bathroom, water closet [Brit, archaic], W.C. [Brit], loo [Brit, informal], jacks [Ireland, informal], bog [Brit, informal]

1. Confine to a small space, as for intensive work
   "The writer closeted himself in his study to finish the novel"

1. Not openly made known
   "He was a closet smoker";
   - unavowed, secret

Derived forms: closets, closeted, closeting

See also: unacknowledged

Type of: article of furniture, confine, furniture, piece of furniture, room, storage space

Encyclopedia: Closet