drawer

A drawer is usually the sliding part of a desk, dresser, or cabinet that you pull out to keep things inside. It is where socks, papers, tools, or silverware often end up, so this is the meaning most people think of first. You hear it in everyday lines like, "Please close the drawer," or "My keys are in the top drawer."

The word can also mean a person who draws, such as an artist or illustrator. In more formal situations, especially in banking, it can mean the person who writes and signs a check or similar paper. Most of the time, though, everyday English uses it for the part of a piece of furniture that slides in and out.

The word "drawer" most often refers to the box-like part of a piece of furniture that slides in and out. It is made to hold things and keep them organized. A dresser has them for clothes, a desk may have one for papers and pens, and a kitchen often has them for silverware, towels, or cooking tools. This is the meaning behind common phrases like "top drawer," "junk drawer," or "close the drawer."

"Drawer" can also mean a person who draws. In that sense, it refers to someone who makes pictures with a pencil, pen, or similar tool. You might read that someone is "a skilled drawer," although in everyday modern English people often prefer to say "artist" or "illustrator" instead.

There are also narrower meanings. In banking and legal writing, a drawer is the person who writes and signs a check or bill of exchange. In older texts, "drawers" can mean underclothes, and in historical settings a "drawer" may mean a person who draws beer from a cask. These uses are much less common today, but they still appear from time to time.

Taken together, the word usually points either to something that is pulled out or to someone who draws. In daily conversation, though, it almost always means the sliding storage compartment in a piece of furniture.