cellar

[sel-er]

noun

1. a room, or set of rooms, for the storage of food, fuel, etc., wholly or partly underground and usually beneath a building.

2. an underground room or story.

3. wine cellar.

4. Sports.,  the lowest position in a group ranked in order of games won.

   The team was in the cellar for most of the season.

verb (used with object)

1. to place or store in a cellar.

cellar

/ ˈsɛlə /

noun

1. an underground room, rooms, or storey of a building, usually used for storage Compare basement

2. a place where wine is stored

3. a stock of bottled wines

verb

1. (tr) to store in a cellar

Other Word Forms

• cellarless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cellar¹

1175–1225; Middle English celer < Anglo-French < Latin cellārium storeroom, equivalent to cell ( a ) cell + -ārium -ary; later respelling to reflect Latin form; -er ², -ar ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of cellar¹

C13: from Anglo-French, from Latin cellārium food store, from cella _cella

Example Sentences

Doncic looks like an MVP in purple and gold, while the Mavericks flounder in the cellar of the Western Conference.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Collectively, the properties boasted swimming pools, a tennis court, wine cellar, private library and a ballroom.

Read more on BBC

Seidel took sick leave from his newspaper delivery job, packed tools and a week’s worth of bread and cheese, and moved into the cellar of a building on the western side of the wall.

Read more on Literature

The deal made him the highest-paid corner in NFL history and sent a message that when the team finally emerged from the cellar, Gardner would be a major reason why.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There’s the “cellar rat” turned sommelier who worked at Tampa’s Bern’s for over three decades.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apartment 
• basement 
• vault