cellar

American  

[sel-er] / ˈsɛl ər /

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to place or store in a cellar.

cellar British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to store in a cellar

Other Word Forms

• cellarless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cellar

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

Explanation

A cellar is a basic, unfinished basement. In a very old house, the cellar might have stone walls and a rough dirt floor. Your cellar might basically be a basement, a place you keep your tools and do your laundry. Some cellars have specific purposes, including a storm cellar, where you take cover during a tornado or other storm, and a root cellar, where you store potatoes and other root vegetables during the cold months of the year. This kind of cellar comes the closest to the meaning of the Latin root, cellarium: "pantry or storeroom."

Example Sentences

Farmer’s Cellar is projected to hit $1.5 million in sales for its first year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Bradley Cooper cast real stand-up comedians Chloe Radcliffe and Jordan Jensen from NYC’s iconic Comedy Cellar to ensure the film captured authentic comedy scene dynamics.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2026

The "Salt Cellar", a golden sculpture made by Florentine artist Benvenuto Cellini in 1543 for King of France Francis I, disappeared from Vienna's Museum of Fine Arts at dawn on May 12, 2003.

From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025

In 1981, their group won the inaugural Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Festival, for their production of The Cellar Tapes.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2025

Possibly when fully awakened you begin to consider that the Turks’ Cellar is not the most healthful place of recreation to be in; and, cleaving the dense smoke, you ascend into sunlight. 

From A Tramp's Wallet stored by an English goldsmith during his wanderings in Germany and France by Duthie, William

Related Words

• apartment
• basement
• vault