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medicine cabinet

medicine cabinet

26 1.3
A small cabinet in a bathroom that holds medicines and first-aid items
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛdɪsɪn ˈkæbɪnɪt/
translation icon : botiquín
  • Give me a lab report on everything in this medicine cabinet, too.
  • open the medicine cabinet
  • medicine cabinet in the bathroom
  • medicine cabinet mirror

Oh, wow, It's like a little medicine cabinet.

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Examples

Synonyms

medicine chest
vsmedicine cabinet
  • UK
4 2.5

A small bathroom cabinet that holds medicine and small personal care items

is the alternative common name for the same bathroom storage

How Big

clothes closet
  • US
1 1.1
cupboard
79 1.0
medicine cabinet
26 1.3
box
1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

medicine + cabinet

The meaning 'a cabinet for storing medicines' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'medicine' (drugs to treat illness) with 'cabinet' (a storage piece of furniture). This noun–noun composition is a common, literal pattern in English (and parallels exist in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Medicine cabinet comes from the small cabinet people kept in the bathroom to keep their medicine and bandages. Because that cupboard held pills, creams and other care items for quick use, the name now means 'a small cabinet for medicines and toiletries'.