Definition

Noun: A small, enclosed storage space, typically within a larger room or hallway, designed specifically for holding brooms, mops, and other cleaning supplies and equipment.

Usage

This term refers to a specific type of storage closet. It is used to describe the physical location where cleaning tools are kept. * The vacuum cleaner and extra trash bags are in the broom closet. * She opened the broom closet to get a mop for the spill. * Our apartment has a small broom closet next to the kitchen.

Advanced Usage

• Metaphorical Use: Sometimes used idiomatically to describe a state of being hidden away, overlooked, or relegated to an insignificant position.
  • After the scandal, the company's legal team was kept in the broom closet.

Variants and Related Words

• Broom cupboard (chiefly British English): A synonym for "broom closet."
• Utility closet: A slightly broader term that may also house items like circuit breakers or water heaters in addition to cleaning supplies.
• Janitorial closet: A closet, often larger, containing professional cleaning equipment, typically in a commercial or institutional building.

Synonyms

• Cleaning closet
• Supply closet (context-dependent)

Related Idioms

• To come out of the broom closet: A playful, informal idiom meaning to reveal one's role or involvement in cleaning or domestic chores, often used humorously.
  • After years of pretending not to know how to do laundry, he finally came out of the broom closet.

Noun

1. a small room for storing brooms and other cleaning equipment