English

Noun

wardrobe ‎(plural wardrobes)

1. (obsolete) A room for keeping clothes and armor safe, particularly a dressing room or walk-in closet beside a bedroom.
2. (figuratively) A governmental office or department in a monarchy which purchases, keeps, and cares for royal clothes.
3. (figuratively) The building housing such a department.
4. (obsolete) Any closet used for storing anything.
5. A room for keeping costumes and other property safe at a theater; a prop room.
6. (figuratively) The department of a theater, movie studio, &c. which purchases, keeps, and cares for costumes; its staff; its room(s) or building(s).
7. A movable cupboard or cabinet designed for use storing clothes, particularly as a large piece of bedroom furniture.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess:

     A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.

8. (figuratively, uncommon) Anything that similarly stores or houses something.
   • 1605, 1st Pt. Jeronimo:

     Now death... crams his store house to the top with bloud,
     Might I now and Andrea in one fight,
     Make vp thy wardroope
     Richer by a knight.

9. The contents of a wardrobe: an individual's entire collection of clothing.
10. (figuratively) Any collection of clothing.
11. (figuratively, uncommon) Any collection of anything.
12. (obsolete) A private chamber, particularly one used for sleeping or (euphemistic) urinating and defecating.
13. (hunting, obsolete) Badger ****: the feces produced by badgers, particularly used in tracking game.

Synonyms

• (movable furniture for storing clothes): armoir, dresser; cupboard (UK); closet (regional US), press (Irish & Scots), shrank
• (department overseeing costumes): costume department
• (sleeping chamber): See bedroom
• (lavatory or outhouse): See Wikisaurus:bathroom

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• lowboy
• tallboy

Verb

wardrobe ‎(third-person singular simple present wardrobes, present participle wardrobing, simple past and past participle wardrobed)

1. (intransitive) To act as a wardrobe department, to provide clothing or sets of clothes.
   • 1954 December 11, Billboard, p. 20:

     […] impressed with the quality of the talent and production, good wardrobing and speedy pacing.

Anagrams

• drawbore

References

• "wardrobe, n." in the Oxford English Dictionary (1921), Oxford: Oxford University Press.