Meaning

3 senses

  1. (transitive)To shut away for private discussion.

    The ambassador has been closeted with the prime minister all afternoon. We're all worried what will be announced when they exit.

  2. (transitive)To put into a private place for a secret interview or interrogation.

  3. (transitive)To shut up in, or as in, a closet for concealment or confinement.

More definitions
  • confine to a small space, as for intensive work

Examples

603 sentences

  1. There's someone hiding in the closet.

    У шафі хтось ховається. — deniko

    ruКто-то прячется в шкафу. — marafon

    deJemand hält sich im Schrank versteckt. — al_ex_an_der

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. What else is in the closet?

    Що ще у шафі? — Oheto

    ruЧто ещё в шкафу? — odexed

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. Does your room have a closet?

    У твоїй кімнаті є шафа? — deniko

    ruУ тебя в комнате есть шкаф? — marafon

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. Tom found Mary hiding in the closet.

    Том знайшов Мері. Вона ховалася у комірці. — oromashka

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  5. Tom couldn't get the closet door open.

    Том не зміг відчинити двері шафи. — deniko

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Origin

From Middle English closet, from Old French closet, from clos (“private space”) + -et (dim

From Middle English closet, from Old French closet, from clos (“private space”) + -et (diminutive suffix), from Latin clausum. Equivalent to close + -et, but generally applied in French solely to small open-air enclosures.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

closets, closeting, closeted, closeted
Base formcloset · to closet
3rd person singularclosets
Present participlecloseting
Past simplecloseted
Past participlecloseted

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theycloset
he, she, itclosets

Past simpleLesson

all personscloseted

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave closeted
he, she, ithas closeted

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill closet

Word family

2 related words
Relatedcome out
Derivedcloseted

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

Collocations

12 patterns
  • in the closet
  • closet is full
  • in my closet
  • in his closet
  • out his closet
  • the closet door
  • my closet is
  • the hall closet
  • into the closet
  • opened the closet
  • of the closet
  • hall closet

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
closelyB1closenessC1closerclosingclosureB2

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

closet — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto