reefer

[ ree-fer ]

/ ˈri fər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR reefer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Nautical. a person who reefs.

a short, close-fitting coat or jacket of thick cloth, similar to a pea jacket.

a woman's tailored, fitted, single- or double-breasted coat of durable material with a collar.

Nearby words

Origin of reefer

First recorded in 1820–30; reef² + -er¹

reefer

[ ree-fer ]

/ ˈri fər /

noun Slang.

a marijuana cigarette.

Origin of reefer

1930–35; probably < Mexican Spanish grifa; see griefo

reefer

[ ree-fer ]

/ ˈri fər /

noun Informal.

a refrigerator, especially one large enough to be walked into.

a refrigerator car, ship, truck, etc.

Origin of reefer

First recorded in 1910–15; alteration and shortening of refrigerator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for reefer

“We were taught with Reefer Madness that it was a hard-core drug and we should veer away from it,” she says.
Ganjapreneurs Line Up to Get Florida High|Abby Haglage|July 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hemp, too close to reefer madness for comfort, was one of them.
Kentucky Tells Feds: Hands Off Our Hemp!|Abby Haglage|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Armstrong told Harold that reefer was "medicine for headaches, toothaches, and the blues," advice Conrad took to heart.
The Stacks: Harold Conrad Was Many Things, But He Was Never, Ever Dull|Mark Jacobson|March 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
University of Colorado cracks down on 4/20 reefer madness, but a few students still manage to party.
No Rocky Mountain High in Boulder, Colorado|Annie Melton|April 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Darling shut the casket and slipped it into an inner breast-pocket of his reefer.
The Harbor Master|Theodore Goodridge Roberts
Mr. Reefer looked at Patty for a few moments with a face about as expressive as a graven image.
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1907 to 1908|Lucy Maud Montgomery
The names of the captured gunboats were Nonata, Bonita and Reefer.
The War With Mexico, Volume I (of 2)|Justin H. Smith
He rose, pulled up the collar of his reefer, pulled down the ears of his cap, and set out to keep moving.
The Children of the Valley|Harriet Prescott Spofford
The old man slipped the weapon into the pocket of his reefer as casually as though it had been another pipe.
The Messenger|Elizabeth Robins

British Dictionary definitions for reefer

reefer

/ (ˈriːfə) /

noun

nautical a person who reefs, such as a midshipman

another name for reefing jacket

slang a hand-rolled cigarette, esp one containing cannabis

Word Origin for reefer

C19: from reef ²; applied to the cigarette because of its resemblance to the rolled reef of a sail

noun

a ship, lorry, or other form of transport designed to carry refrigerated cargo

Word Origin for reefer

C20: shortened and adapted from refrigerator

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for reefer

reefer

"marijuana cigarette," 1920s, perhaps an alteration of Mexican Spanish grifo "marijuana, drug addict" [OED]; or perhaps from reef (v.), on resemblance to a rolled sail. It also meant "pickpocket" in criminal slang (1935). Reefer also was a nickname for "midshipman" (1818) "because they attend in the tops during the operation of reefing" [Century Dictionary], which is the source of the meaning "coat of a nautical cut" (1878) worn by sailors and fishermen "but copied for general use in the fashions of 1888-90" [CD].

Medicine definitions for reefer

reefer

[ rē′fər ]

n.

Marijuana, especially a marijuana cigarette.

reefer

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of reefer

reefer

noun Slang.

Origin of reefer

reefer

noun Informal.

Origin of reefer

Examples from the Web for reefer

reefer

noun

Word Origin for reefer

noun

Word Origin for reefer

reefer

reefer

n.