china closet

American  

Or china cabinet

noun

1. a cabinet or cupboard for storing or exhibiting chinaware.

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Etymology

Origin of china closet

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

“To her, the world was not a china closet where you admire this and don’t touch that,” McBride wrote of Chona in the novel.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 5, 2023

Original hardwood floors, Victorian paint color scheme, ornate curved oak staircase and woodworking; sitting parlor, formal dining room with built-in china closet, eat-in kitchen, pocket doors.

From Washington Times • Jan. 7, 2016

In his thefts from Homer, Keats, Joyce Kilmer, the marriage service and Shakespeare, Burglar Powys invariably knocks over the china closet or steps on the cat.

From Time Magazine Archive

Above her, the sun shines through a latticework of broken boards that was once the roof and onto a dust-covered china closet.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Come and take a walk, my dear?” cried Polly, hopping toward the china closet, with a look suggestive of a lump of sugar.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott