Definition of cabinet

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< Cabinda

cabinetmaker >

cab·i·net    (kb-nt) KEY 

NOUN:

1. An upright, cupboardlike repository with shelves, drawers, or compartments for the safekeeping or display of objects.
2. Computer Science The box that houses the main components of a computer, such as the central processing unit, disk drives, and expansion slots.
3. often Cabinet A body of persons appointed by a head of state or a prime minister to head the executive departments of the government and to act as official advisers.
4. Archaic A small or private room set aside for a specific activity.
5. Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts See milk shake. See Regional Note at milk shake.

ADJECTIVE:

1. Suitable for storage or display in a cabinet, as because of size or decorative quality.
2. Of, relating to, or being a member of a governmental cabinet: cabinet matters; a cabinet minister.
3. Used in the making of cabinets: teak and other heavy cabinet wood.

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ETYMOLOGY:
French, partly from diminutive of Old North French cabine, gambling-room (perhaps alteration of Old French cabane, small house; see cabin), and partly from Italian gabinetto, closet, chest of drawers; akin to Old North French cabine . N., sense 5, possibly from the square wooden container in which the mixer was encased

OTHER FORMS:
cabi·net·ful(Noun)