cooler

[ koo-ler ]

See synonyms for cooler on Thesaurus.com

noun

a container or apparatus, as an insulated chest, in which something may be cooled or kept cool.
anything that cools or makes cool; refrigerant.

an air conditioner.
a tall drink, consisting of liquor, soda, and a fruit garnish.
water cooler.
the cooler, Slang. jail: He was in the cooler for three months for petty theft.
Ice Hockey Slang. penalty box.

Origin of cooler

First recorded in 1565–75; cool + -er¹

Words Nearby cooler

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cooler in a sentence

If 2014 was any indication, the coming TV schedule is sure to be filled with plenty of water-cooler shows.
Four TV Shows We Can’t Wait to Return In 2015 | DISH | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
We were able, hopefully, to educate those policy makers… As of December of this year, cooler heads have prevailed.
SWAT Lobby Shoots to Kill Police Reform After Ferguson | Tim Mak | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Some, like Norman Mailer, adopted the cooler pose of being casually interested in the possibility.
The FBI’s Bogus ISIS Bust | James Poulos | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
A bottle of locally brewed liquor chills in a water cooler in the corner, a Pepsi bottle next to it for mixing.
Obama’s Deadly Informants: The Drone Spotters of Pakistan | Umar Farooq, Syed Fakhar Kakakhel | November 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“My ideal is that this conversation happens at the water cooler,” Tambor says.
Jeffrey Tambor Is One Helluva Woman: Inside His Phenomenal Turn in ‘Transparent’ | Kevin Fallon | September 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

If you use it wisely, it may be Ulysses' hauberk; if you reject it, the shirt of Nessus were a cooler winding-sheet!
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter
Say, old-timer, is it right about Mac losing his stripes and getting thirty days in the cooler?
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
A cool head, his; never a cooler brought thought to bear upon perplexity; nevertheless it was not feeling very collected now.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
Donald has a still cooler head than his neighbour John Bull, and that is saying a good deal.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
Lifted upward, the air as it ascends the slopes is brought into cooler and more rarefied conditions.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for cooler

cooler

/ (ˈkuːlə) /

noun

a container, vessel, or apparatus for cooling, such as a heat exchanger
a slang word for prison

a drink consisting of wine, fruit juice, and carbonated water

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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