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Showing results for water cooler. Search instead for water+cooler.
Synonyms

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

"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

  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
"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

Etymology

Origin of water cooler

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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.

Word has spread on Wall Street around the water cooler and during after-work drinks with friends.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

It was the epitome of water cooler television.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2024

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

Kelenic delivered a kick to that infamous water cooler and wound up with a broken bone in his left foot.

From Washington Times • Dec. 13, 2023

He filled a glass at the water cooler to water his beans.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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.