water cooler

American  

noun

1. a container for holding drinking water that is cooled and drawn off by a faucet or spigot.

2. a drinking fountain in which water is cooled by mechanical refrigeration.

---

water cooler British  

noun

1. a device for cooling and dispensing drinking water

---

1. informal

   1. indicating the kind of informal conversation among office staff that takes place at such a dispenser

      water-cooler conversations

   2. indicating an event, television programme, etc, sufficiently controversial or otherwise noteworthy to provide subject matter for such conversations

      water-cooler television

      a water-cooler moment

Etymology

Origin of water cooler

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

Standing awkwardly on the outside of someone else’s water cooler.

From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026

“There is a lot of water cooler talk about people who haven’t had work in months,” said Emily Lawrence, who has narrated more than 600 audiobooks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

Like many writers working alone, she had used Twitter as a virtual water cooler.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2025

For nearly 14 years, an online message board called Memegen has served as a virtual water cooler for Google employees.

From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2024

Fred scooched closer to the water cooler and accidentally nudged it sideways—enough to make the big water bottle up top wobble.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• water fountain