glove compartment

Meaning

A small storage drawer or compartment built into the dashboard of a car, usually located on the passenger side. Historically used to store driving gloves, it is now typically used for vehicle registration, manuals, and sunglasses.

Examples

• The car insurance papers are kept in the glove compartment.

  The car insurance papers are kept in the glove compartment.

• Could you open the glove compartment and hand me my sunglasses?

  Could you open the glove compartment and hand me my sunglasses?

• I always keep a small flashlight and a phone charger in the glove compartment.

  I always keep a small flashlight and a phone charger in the glove compartment.

• The rental agreement should be in the glove compartment of the vehicle.

  The rental agreement should be in the glove compartment of the vehicle.

• He reached into the glove compartment to grab a napkin for the spilled coffee.

  He reached into the glove compartment to grab a napkin for the spilled coffee.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I put the documents in the gloves box.

  ✓ I put the documents in the glove compartment.

  While 'glove box' is a very common informal alternative, 'gloves box' (plural) is incorrect. The standard singular term is 'glove compartment' or 'glove box'.

• ✗ The papers are in the front drawer of the car.

  ✓ The papers are in the glove compartment.

  Cars do not have 'drawers'. The specific term for the storage space in the dashboard is the 'glove compartment'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If the police pull you over, they will ask for your registration, which is usually in the ___.

  💡 The small storage space on the passenger side dashboard.

  Show answer

  glove compartment

• I think I left the map in the ___ next to the owner's manual.

  💡 The dashboard storage box.

  Show answer

  glove compartment