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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cab·i·net       (kāb'ə-nĭt)  Pronunciation Key  n.   An upright, cupboardlike repository with shelves, drawers, or compartments for the safekeeping or display of objects. Computer Science The box that houses the main components of a computer, such as the central processing unit, disk drives, and expansion slots. 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. Archaic A small or private room set aside for a specific activity. Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts See milk shake. See Regional Note at milk shake. adj.   Suitable for storage or display in a cabinet, as because of size or decorative quality. Of, relating to, or being a member of a governmental cabinet: cabinet matters; a cabinet minister. Used in the making of cabinets: teak and other heavy cabinet wood. [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.] cab'i·net·ful n.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

milk shake   n.   A beverage made of milk, flavoring, and ice cream, shaken or whipped until foamy. Also called shake; also called regionally cabinet, frappe, velvet. New England A beverage made of milk and flavored syrup, whipped until foamy. To most Americans, a milk shake, that thick, sweet accompaniment to a hamburger and fries, naturally includes ice cream. But speakers in parts of New England make finer distinctions in their ice cream terminology. To a person living in Rhode Island or the adjoining part of Massachusetts, a milk shake consists of milk shaken up with flavored syrup and nothing more; if ice cream is included, the drink is called a cabinet, possibly, says food writer John F. Mariani in The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, named after the square wooden cabinet in which the mixer was encased. Farther north in New England, the same drink is called a velvet or a frappe (from French frapper, "to ice").

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cabinet 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

cabinet
noun
1.	a piece of furniture resembling a cupboard with doors and shelves and drawers; for storage or display
2.	persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers
3.	a storage compartment for clothes and valuables; usually it has a lock
4.	housing for electronic instruments, as radio or television

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
cabinet

A select group of officials who advise the head of government. In nations governed by parliaments, such as Britain, the members of the cabinet typically have seats in parliament. (Compare cabinet under ®ÄúAmerican Politics.®Äù)

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
cabinet

A group of presidential advisers, composed of the heads of the fourteen government departments (the secretaries of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of Labor, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the attorney general (head of the Department of Justice) ®Äî all of whom are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate) and a few other select government officials. Theoretically, the cabinet is charged with debating major policy issues and recommending action by the executive branch; the actual influence of the cabinet, however, is limited by competition from other advisory staffs.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cabinet

Cab"i*net\ (k[a^]b"[i^]*n[e^]t), n. [F., dim. of cabine or cabane. See Cabin, n.]

1. A hut; a cottage; a small house. [Obs.]

Hearken a while from thy green cabinet, The rural song of careful Colinet. --Spenser.

2. A small room, or retired apartment; a closet.

3. A private room in which consultations are held.

Philip passed some hours every day in his father's cabinet. --Prescott.

4. The advisory council of the chief executive officer of a nation; a cabinet council.

Note: In England, the cabinet or cabinet council consists of those privy councilors who actually transact the immediate business of the government. --Mozley & W. -- In the United States, the cabinet is composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government, namely, the Secretary of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy, of the Interior, and of Agiculture, the Postmaster-general, and the Attorney-general.

5. (a) A set of drawers or a cupboard intended to contain articles of value. Hence: (b) A decorative piece of furniture, whether open like an ['e]tag[`e]re or closed with doors. See ['E]tag[`e]re.

6. Any building or room set apart for the safe keeping and exhibition of works of art, etc.; also, the collection itself.

Cabinet council. (a) Same as Cabinet, n., 4 (of which body it was formerly the full title). (b) A meeting of the cabinet.

Cabinet councilor, a member of a cabinet council.

Cabinet photograph, a photograph of a size smaller than an imperial, though larger than a carte de visite.

Cabinet picture, a small and generally highly finished picture, suitable for a small room and for close inspection.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cabinet

Cab"i*net\, a. Suitable for a cabinet; small.

He [Varnhagen von Ense] is a walking cabinet edition of Goethe. --For. Quar. Rev.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cabinet

Cab"i*net\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cabineted; p. pr. & vb. n. Cabineting.] To inclose [R.] --Hewyt.