cupboard
cup·board/ˈkʌbəɹd/noun, verb
cupboard is spelled C-U-P-B-O-A-R-D: 8 letters and 2 syllables (cup·board). It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cupboard means “A cabinet, closet, or other piece of furniture with shelves intended for storing cookware, dishware, or food; similar cabinets or closets used for…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cupboard is cupboards.
How many letters and syllables are in cupboard?
| Letters | 8: C-U-P-B-O-A-R-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cup·board |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cupboard?
Cupboard appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cupboard?
- UK /ˈkʌbəd/
- US /ˈkʌbəɹd/
- Australia /ˈkɐbəd/
Cupboard has 2 syllables, split cup·board in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-cupboard.ogg, En-us-cupboard.ogg, En-au-cupboard.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cupboard
- cupboards plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cupboard mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteA board or table used to openly hold and display silver plate and other dishware; a sideboard; a buffet.
- 2
obsoleteThings displayed on a sideboard; dishware, particularly valuable plate.
But howe comme to pas, / Your cupbord that was / Is tourned to glasse, / From syluere to brasse, / From golde to pewter, / Or els to a newter, / To copper, to tyn, / To lede, or alcumyn?
- 3
A cabinet, closet, or other piece of furniture with shelves intended for storing cookware, dishware, or food; similar cabinets or closets used for storing other items.
Put the cups back into the cupboard.
- 4
UKA closet for storing coats.
- 5
obsoleteThings stored in a cupboard; particularly food.
Some men they [make] love for what they can get, / And 'tis certain there's many a Lubbard; / Will sigh and will pant, seeming ready to faint, / And all for the love of the cubbard, brave boys! / And all [for the love of the Cup-board].
verb
- 1
To collect, as into a cupboard; to hoard.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cupboard in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | placard, armoire , buffet |
| German | Schrank , Küchenschrank |
| Portuguese | armário |
| Spanish | armario, vitrina, alacena |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cupboard come from?
Inherited from Middle English cuppeborde, cupbord. By surface analysis, cup + board. Phonetic variants show that the /p/ in the original forms had assimilated to the present-day /b/ by the 16th century; the etymological spelling has, however, dominated from the 18th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).