- (usually the Cabinet)[countable + singular or plural verb]
a group of senior members of a government that is responsible for advising and deciding on government policy 内阁 a cabinet meeting 内阁会议 - (British English)
a cabinet minister 内阁大臣 - (British English)
the shadow Cabinet (= the most important members of the opposition party) 影子内阁（反对党中最重要的成员）
WordfinderCulture the Cabinetthe CabinetIn Britain, the Cabinet is a committee responsible for deciding government policy and for bringing together the work of government departments. It consists of about 20 ministers chosen by the Prime Minister and meets for a few hours each week at Downing Street. Its members have sworn not to talk about the meetings. Reports are sent to government departments but these give only summaries of the topics discussed and decisions taken. They do not mention who agreed or disagreed. The principle of collective responsibility means that the Cabinet acts unanimously (= all together), even if some ministers do not agree. When a policy has been decided, each minister is expected to support it in public or resign. Prime ministers can change the members of their Cabinet in Cabinet reshuffles. Some members are dropped, new ones are brought in, and the rest may be given responsibility for a different department.The leader of the main opposition party forms a Shadow Cabinet of shadow ministers, each with a particular area of responsibility, so that there is a team ready to take over immediately if the party in power should be defeated.Committees are chosen by the Cabinet to examine issues in more detail than the Cabinet has time for. Members of these committees are not necessarily politicians. The Cabinet Office led by the Secretary to the Cabinet, the most senior civil servant in Britain, prepares agendas for Cabinet meetings and committees.In the US the Cabinet consists of the heads of the 15 departments that make up the executive branch of the federal government. Each president chooses the department heads, called secretaries, but they have to be approved by the Senate. Since the Cabinet was not established by the Constitution, the President can add, remove or combine departments, and can decide when to ask the Cabinet for policy advice, and whether or not to follow it.State governments are usually organized in a similar way to the national government, and most have a cabinet.Extra ExamplesTopics Politicsc1The defeat in the vote forced the Cabinet to change its policy on immigration. 选举失败迫使内阁改变移民政策。 The issue was discussed at yesterday's cabinet meeting. 昨天的内阁会议讨论了这个问题。 The inner Cabinet is to meet again today. 今天核心内阁将再次会晤。 The prime minister reshuffled his Cabinet yesterday. 昨天首相改组了内阁。 The affair led to a mid-term Cabinet reshuffle. 这次事件引发了内阁中期改组。 She lost her position as Health Minister in a recent cabinet reshuffle. 在最近的内阁改组中，她丢掉了卫生部长的位子。 He is a member of the Shadow Cabinet. 他是影子内阁的成员。 Several cabinet ministers have been implicated in the scandal. 几个内阁部长卷入了丑闻之中。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- full
- inner
- shadow
- …
- appoint
- choose
- form
- …
- meet
- discuss something
- appointee
- member
- minister
- …
- [countable]
a piece of furniture with doors, drawers and/or shelves, that is used for storing or showing things 储藏柜；陈列柜 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- glass
- maple
- oak
- …
- door
- drawer
- in a/the cabinet
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from cabin + -et, influenced by French cabinet.