A closet (especially in North American usage)'s a small and enclosed space, a cabinet, or a cupboard in a house or building used for general storage or hanging clothes. A closet for food storage's usually referred to as a pantry. A closet, through French from Latin clausum, "closed" began life in the seventeenth century as a small private room, often behind a bedroom, to which a man or woman could retire, for privacy, reading, or enjoyment of personal works of art: for this usage, see Cabinet (… (More on Closet)