An armoire is a kind of wardrobe or freestanding closet. You can hang your clothes on hangers in an armoire, or put your folded sweaters on its shelves.

It was once less common for houses to be built with closets, and armoires gave people a place to store things out of sight. Armoire is a French word, from the Old French armarie, “cupboard or bookcase,” with its Latin root armarium, “closet for storing implements or tools.”