freezer
Americannoun
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a refrigerator, refrigerator compartment, cabinet, or room held at or below 32°F (0°C), used especially for preserving and storing food.
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a machine containing cold brine, ice, etc., for making ice cream, sherbet, or the like.
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a person or thing that freezes or chills.
noun
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Also called: deepfreeze. a device that freezes or chills, esp an insulated cold-storage cabinet for long-term storage of perishable foodstuffs
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a former name for refrigerator
Etymology
Origin of freezer
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They complain about ending up covered in manure or dust, or shivering in a freezer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Deborah Oyaleke was sent into a large freezer room to verify cartons of frozen fish.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
The morgue at Galle could handle about 25 bodies at a time and the authorities were rushing freezer shipping containers to preserve the remains until legal formalities were completed.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
When the call came on January 17, Bri had pumped about a thousand ounces of extra breastmilk, which was stored in her freezer.
From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026
When my father discovered my colony of frozen slugs in the basement freezer, I chose not to explain my complex theories of suspended animation.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
