a piece of furniture resembling a cupboard with doors and shelves and drawers; for storage or display
"She decided to replace the old kitchen cabinet because the wood had started peeling after years of cooking."
persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers
"The Prime Minister called an emergency meeting with his cabinet to decide on the new economic policy."
a storage compartment for clothes and valuables; usually it has a lock
"She placed her wedding ring in the locked cabinet to keep it safe from prying eyes."
A storage closet either separate from, or built into, a wall.
"After installing the new plumbing pipes, we had to cut out part of the old cabinet to make room for the water heater."
In plain English: A cabinet is a piece of furniture with shelves and doors used for storing things like dishes or clothes.
"She kept her favorite recipes in a small wooden cabinet under the sink."
Usage: Use "cabinet" to refer to a piece of furniture with shelves and doors for storing items like dishes or clothes, rather than a room or closet in a house. Do not use it interchangeably with "closet," which typically denotes a larger storage space built into a wall.
The word cabinet comes from the combination of the Old French words cabin and -et, originally referring to a small private room or closet. Its modern meaning of "a government group" likely developed by analogy with other terms like salon, which also shifted from describing a physical gathering space to denoting the people who meet there.