From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcupboardcup‧board /ˈkʌbəd $ -ərd/ ●●● S2 noun [countable] 1 DHFa piece of furniture with doors, and sometimes shelves, used for storing clothes, plates, food etc → closet, wardrobe, cabinet It’s in the kitchen cupboard. The cupboard doors were open.2 → the cupboard is bare → airing cupboard, → skeleton in the cupboard at skeleton(5)COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1 : a piece of furniture with doors, and sometimes shelves, used for storing clothes, plates, food etctypes of cupboarda kitchen cupboardThe kitchen cupboards were empty.a bathroom/hall/bedroom cupboard British EnglishYour boots are in the hall cupboard.a built-in/fitted cupboard British English (=ones that are there permanently and cannot be moved)The kitchen has built-in cupboards.a wall cupboard British English (=fixed to the wall, not on the floor)Wall cupboards provide extra storage in the garage.a storage cupboard British English (=for storing things)There's a storage cupboard under the stairs.a food/medicine/clothes cupboard British EnglishThe medicine cupboard's in the bathroom.a drinks cupboard British English (=for drinks, especially alcoholic ones)He went to the drinks cupboard and poured a whisky.an airing cupboard British English (=a warm cupboard for sheets and towels)a linen cupboard British English (=for sheets and towels)a broom cupboard (=for brushes and other things you use to clean the house)a bedside cupboard British English (=a small cupboard beside a bed)
Examples from the Corpus
cupboard• Older gardening books may recommend a cool cupboard indoors for plunging.• Donorlabeled cupboards filled with shallow drawers of shells line one side of the upstairs office area.• So the Wicked Witch took the Golden Cap from her cupboard and placed it upon her head.• There was, in her cupboard, a Golden Cap, with a circle of diamonds and rubies running round it.• Inspectors told of finding a sickening harvest of leaves, grease and dead insects in cupboards and drawers.• Above it, on the wall itself, were great tea-chest-sized oak cupboards.• There's a lot of cupboard space in this kitchen.• Or you could line the walls with bookshelves from waist-level, with cupboards underneath to provide storage and serving space.Origin cupboard (1500-1600) cupboard “shelf or table for cups” ((14-18 centuries)) 