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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Classic episodes of series including "Planet Earth II" and "Blue Planet II" are being reshown along with others such as "Life in the Freezer" and "Paradise Birds" available on the BBC's iPlayer service.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
“Rescuers will lift each block less than five tons and we will see if there is a body found after each block is lifted,” Freezer said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025
“There is a stigma to using your microwave” for cooking, said Ali Rosen, author of the cookbooks “Bring It!” and “Modern Freezer Meals.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2023
Kate Hall, who runs The Full Freezer website, uses her freezer as a pause button rather than a long-term storage solution.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2022
"A Freezer on a pedestal," he had said.
From We of the Never-Never by Gunn, Jeannie
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.
