fridge
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fridge
1925–30; by shortening of refrigerator or Frigidaire
Explanation
Fridge is short for refrigerator, that giant kitchen appliance that keeps food cold. If you’re too hungry to say five syllables, just say you’re going to see what’s in the fridge. Although fridge is a little word, a fridge can be anything from a regular-sized refrigerator to one of those little mini-fridges that live in a dorm room or man cave. Fridge sounds like frigid, which means very cold. The colloquial fridge has been around since the mid-1920s, possibly inspired by the well-known refrigerator brand Frigidaire.
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.
He installed a Free Fridge, a pantry where people could access donated food.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
Frequently observing a "queue of people waiting outside in the cold" for the Community Fridge also held at the centre served as further motivation, Jamieson added.
From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026
And the Love Fridge, which acquires only used refrigerators, powers two of them with solar panels — a vision that Von Haynes has for more to come.
From Salon • Nov. 8, 2023
Mutual-aid efforts have proliferated in recent years, including small, short-lived online fundraisers and large-scale projects like Seattle Community Fridge, which kicked off in summer 2020.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 26, 2023
Fridge open, dinner in the Tupperware with the burgundy top tossed into the bag.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
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.
