Shelf vs. Cabinet — What's the Difference?

A flat length of wood or rigid material, attached to a wall or forming part of a piece of furniture, that provides a surface for the storage or display of objects.

An upright, cupboardlike repository with shelves, drawers, or compartments for the safekeeping or display of objects.

A ledge of rock or protruding strip of land.

(Computers) The box that houses the main components of a computer, such as the central processing unit, disk drives, and expansion slots.

An informer.

Often Cabinet A body of persons appointed by a head of state or a prime minister to head the executive departments of the government and to act as official advisers.

Inform on (someone)

(Archaic) A small or private room set aside for a specific activity.

A flat, usually rectangular structure composed of a rigid material, such as wood, glass, or metal, fixed at right angles to a wall or other vertical surface and used to hold or store objects.

Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts See milkshake.

The contents or capacity of such a structure.

Suitable for storage or display in a cabinet, as because of size or decorative quality.

Something, such as a projecting ledge of rock or a balcony, that resembles such a structure.

Of, relating to, or being a member of a governmental cabinet

A reef, sandbar, or shoal.

Used in the making of cabinets

Bedrock.

A storage closet either separate from, or built into, a wall.

A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk etc., and used to support, store or display objects.

A cupboard.

The capacity of such an object

The upright assembly that houses a coin-operated arcade game, a cab.

A projecting ledge that resembles such an object.

(historical) A size of photograph, specifically one measuring 3⅞" by 5½".

A reef, shoal or sandbar.

A group of advisors to a government or business entity.

(computing) The part of a repository where shelvesets are stored.

In parliamentary and some other systems of government, the group of ministers responsible for creating government policy and for overseeing the departments comprising the executive branch.

A flat tablet or ledge of any material set horizontally at a distance from the floor, to hold objects of use or ornament.

(Kentucky) A cabinet-level agency in the executive branch; that is, an agency headed by a member of the governor's cabinet.

A sand bank in the sea, or a rock, or ledge of rocks, rendering the water shallow, and dangerous to ships.

(archaic) A small chamber or private room.

A stratum lying in a very even manner; a flat, projecting layer of rock.

(often capitalized) A collection of art or ethnographic objects.

A piece of timber running the whole length of a vessel inside the timberheads.

Milkshake.

A support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding objects

(obsolete) A hut; a cottage; a small house.

A projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water

An enclosure for mechanical or electrical equipment.

A hut; a cottage; a small house.

A small room, or retired apartment; a closet.

A private room in which consultations are held.

The advisory council of the chief executive officer of a nation; a cabinet council.

A set of drawers or a cupboard intended to contain articles of value. Hence:

Any building or room set apart for the safe keeping and exhibition of works of art, etc.; also, the collection itself.

Suitable for a cabinet; small.

To inclose

A cupboard-like repository or piece of furniture with doors and shelves and drawers; for storage or display

Persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers

A storage compartment for clothes and valuables; usually it has a lock

Housing for electronic instruments, as radio or television