What is the difference between cabinet and cupboard

Active 6 years, 10 months ago. Viewed 71k times. Improve this question. In the UK you would place government ministers in a cabinet but not a cupboard. I kind of expected this joke to show up here — brilliant. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Jon Purdy Jon Purdy Yeah, what he said. A cupboard and a cabinet can be a freestanding unit or a wall-mounted unit, and very often no physical differences are apparent between the two.

Many people will label a cupboard as a cabinet with a wood and glass door that allows a person to see into the unit to view the contents; some cupboards even feature no doors at all, revealing the plates and cups within.

A cabinet can be more multi-purpose, and storing items in a cabinet can be done with or without shelves. Pots and pans, for example, are often stored in lower cabinets beneath a countertop. Yesteryear's manufacturers designed "cabinets" with luxurious precious metals or exotic woods, and with secret nooks and crannies for hiding or storing valuables — such as a secretary desk or secretary cabinet.

Conversely, cupboards lacked pizzazz. They were simplistic in design and meant to house everyday items, such as preserved goods or clothing — think "jelly cupboard.

Other than that, do you think it is safe to use them interchangebly? Egmont Senior Member Massachusetts, U. You might say that a cupboard is a kitchen cabinet. There are also many types of cabinet that are not used in kitchens and would not be called cupboards. Cross-posted with others who understand the words slightly differently. This may be a question of regional usage. I once thought that cupboard is one that's used in the kitchen too because the word 'cup' is in 'cupboard'.

One thing that confuses me is In Harry Potter, the place Harry lived under the stairs is referred to as 'cupboard'. This means cupboard doesn't have to be in kitchen, and in this case it has no shelves.

I assume British uses cupboard in more general way I grew up speaking British English, and a "cupboard" was any kind of storage furniture with door s , excluding wardrobes.

We had cupboards for our clothes in our bedroom, a cupboard for linen in the passage, cupboards for food and pots in the kitchen, cupboards built into the sideboard for crockery, even a little cupboard in the sitting room for my parents' liquor stock. I never even heard the word 'cabinet' apart from its civic meaning until I met the vendors of what were then marketed as "American kitchens".