cooler

noun

cool·​er ˈkü-lər 

1

: one that cools: such as

a

: a container for cooling liquids

b

: refrigerator

2

: lockup, jail

especially : a cell for violent or unmanageable prisoners

3

: an iced drink usually with an alcoholic beverage as a base

Synonyms

• bastille
• big house [slang]
• bridewell
• brig
• calaboose
• can
• clink [slang]
• coop
• guardroom
• hock
• hold
• hoosegow
• jail
• jailhouse
• joint [slang]
• jug
• lockup
• nick [British slang]
• pen
• penitentiary
• pokey [slang]
• prison
• quod [British slang]
• slam
• slammer
• stir [slang]
• stockade
• tolbooth [Scottish]

Examples of cooler in a Sentence

The sodas are in the cooler.

plea-bargained to avoid spending time in the cooler

Recent Examples on the Web

Raw eggs were stored above ready-to-eat foods in a walk-in cooler and a spray bottle was filled with unmarked chemicals. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2025

Coolers and Equipment sales increased 17% in Q1, mainly from bags and coolers. —Shelley E. Kohan, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025

Other live roaches were spotted inside water inlets on top of the water heater (five), inside a drip pan on the floor near the water heater (another five) and under a reach-in cooler (seven). —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 9 May 2025

The monitoring thermometers for the reach-in coolers were missing. —Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 9 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

cool entry 2 + -er entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cooler

• cooler heads prevail
• the cooler
• wine cooler

Rhymes for cooler

• jeweller
• ruler
• schooler
• schuller
• preschooler
• vestibular

Kids Definition

cooler

noun

cool·​er ˈkü-lər 

: a container for keeping food or drink cool