refrigerator
Americannoun
-
a box, room, or cabinet in which food, drink, etc., are kept cool by means of ice or mechanical refrigeration.
-
the part of a distilling apparatus that cools the volatile material, causing it to condense; condenser; rectifier.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of refrigerator
First recorded in 1605–15; refrigerate + -or 2
Explanation
A refrigerator is a kitchen appliance where you can store your perishable food at a cool temperature. You should store your milk and meat in the refrigerator to keep them from spoiling. The term refrigerator is often shortened to fridge, and because of this, people often mistakenly try to spell refrigerator with a d. Refrigerators come in all sizes, from a small cube that is often used in college dorm rooms by students trying to keep a six-pack of soda cool, to a huge walk-in refrigerator that might be used at a restaurant to cool all the ingredients for the week's meals.
Vocabulary lists containing refrigerator
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Unit 9
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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.
See Examples For:
Thaw the pastry according to the package directions — ideally in the refrigerator, where it can become pliable without turning warm or sticky — and unfold it gently.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
David Matias Rodriguez, an 82-year-old retiree, said he was worried the few things in his refrigerator would be spoiled.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
In America the refrigerator door opens into a world of gorgeous diversity: I can have my milk whole or with 1% or 2% fat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
One is the familiar ferromagnet, the kind found in refrigerator magnets and countless everyday devices.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
He wanted to buy some fresh cold milk, but Nali said that because she didn’t have a refrigerator, he would have to use powdered milk.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
The Ervebo vaccine needs to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, however the new Bundibugyo jab is hoped to last for months in normal refrigerators, making it cheaper and easier to deploy to remote areas.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
This is a sport that named its bowl games for refrigerators, mufflers and weed eaters, and concludes a current one with the bleak, ritual toasting of an anthropomorphic Pop Tart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
In the move Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency extends the deadline for companies to comply with a 2023 rule transitioning refrigerators and air conditioners off HFCs and onto new cooling technologies.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the easing of curbs on a group of powerful greenhouse gases that drive climate change and are commonly found in refrigerators and air conditioners.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
The three women sat in the enormous kitchen with the butcher’s block and two refrigerators.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
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.
