freezer

American  

[free-zer] / ˈfri zər /

noun

• freezers
  plural

1. a refrigerator, refrigerator compartment, cabinet, or room held at or below 32°F (0°C), used especially for preserving and storing food.

2. a machine containing cold brine, ice, etc., for making ice cream, sherbet, or the like.

3. a person or thing that freezes or chills.

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freezer British  

/ ˈfriːzə /

noun

1. Also called: deepfreeze.  a device that freezes or chills, esp an insulated cold-storage cabinet for long-term storage of perishable foodstuffs

2. a former name for refrigerator

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• freezers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of freezer

First recorded in 1835–45; freeze + -er ¹

Explanation

A freezer is an appliance that keeps food frozen at extremely low temperatures. A household freezer is usually built into a refrigerator. It's where you keep your ice cream and ice cubes. The freezer is where you keep ice cubes and frozen peas — it's a compartment at the top (or bottom) of the refrigerator in your kitchen. Larger freezers are used to keep enough food for a long period of time, or so a restaurant, hotel, or school cafeteria can store leftover food or keep enough to cook for a crowd of people. The word freezer was coined in 1847, although it originally meant part of an ice cream maker.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

freezer freezers

I tend to leave dairy, delicate herbs and most cooked grains out of these packs; their texture can go a little strange or mealy in the freezer.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

So I sliced the kielbasa into coins, cut up one red pepper and one medium onion, tucked the whole thing into a reusable freezer bag and flattened it out.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

The company must also sanitize the freezer within seven days of clearing out remaining food waste.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The Radis Community Care worker logged the meal, from the client's freezer, as a "lamb dinner", before a second carer saw the packaging and realised the mistake, the report said.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

I turn my back to the freezer so cold air blows on my hands and wrists.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

The pace would put Lineage on track to finish emptying its freezers within two weeks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

It's a mammoth task: The vast majority of the city's 20,500 licensed food carts -- selling pretzels, peanuts and ice cream -- rely on generators to power stoves, freezers and ventilators.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

The other half is stored in the lab freezers at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales - a big step up from the typical household kitchen freezers they began with.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

He said the company was adding more freezers in stores.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 11, 2026

She gave us lectures on women’s suffrage, Shakespeare, Beethoven, English history, and horticulture, and always had two freezers of homemade ice cream, which was why we all went.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• cooler
• refrigerator