I. clos ‧ et 1 S3 /ˈklɒzət, ˈklɒzɪt $ ˈklɑː-, ˈklɒː-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: clos 'enclosed place' , from Latin clausum , from clausus ; ⇨ ↑ close 2 ]
1 . especially American English a cupboard built into the wall of a room from the floor to the ceiling ⇨ wardrobe :
a closet full of beautiful clothes
2 . come out of the closet
a) to tell people that you are ↑ homosexual after hiding the fact SYN come out
b) to admit something or to start to discuss something that was kept secret before
3 . be in the closet American English informal to not tell people that you are ↑ homosexual
⇨ ↑ water closet , ⇨ a skeleton in the closet at ↑ skeleton (5)
II. closet 2 BrE AmE adjective
closet homosexual/alcoholic etc someone who is a ↑ homosexual etc but who does not want to admit it:
a closet communist
III. closet 3 BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive]
to shut someone in a room away from other people in order to discuss something private, to be alone etc
be closeted with somebody
All morning he’d been closeted with various officials.
Don’t let her closet herself away in her room.