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 chicken was stored above vegetable samosas inside the two-door reach-in cooler, and above paneer cheese in the freezer. —Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025

The Recon models will still group and stack more tightly than average coolers. —New Atlas, 4 June 2025

The room where these examinations are performed is accessed through the cooler, meaning that the whole process can be performed, and samples collected, without bringing the animal inside the main building. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2025

This is a really tough question to answer as an individual who is obsessed with fancy coolers but spent most of his life using the cheapest coolers available. —Joe Jackson, Outside Online, 27 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