cooler

noun

cool·​er ˈkü-lər 

1

: one that cools: such as

a

: a container for cooling liquids

b

: refrigerator

2

: lockup, jail

especially : a cell for violent or unmanageable prisoners

3

: an iced drink usually with an alcoholic beverage as a base

Synonyms

• penitentiary
• jail
• prison

Examples of cooler in a Sentence

The sodas are in the cooler.

plea-bargained to avoid spending time in the cooler

Recent Examples on the Web

Each morning, butlers set up our cabana and coolers, remembering our drink and snack preferences. —Essence, 18 Oct. 2025

Raw meat was stored on unclean storage racks in the walk-in cooler, while containers of cooked dumplings and dumpling filling were stored on the floor. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Kids sell snacks and bottles of water to fans passing through the neighborhood, and their parents pull out coolers and lawn chairs to watch fans walking into the stadium. —Austin Meek, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

Let’s start with some of the 27 dead roaches, a full third of which (that’s nine) were in two roach traps inside a reach-in cooler at the kitchen expo line, where your food is staged before being brought to you. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

cool entry 2 + -er entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cooler

• cooler heads prevail
• the cooler
• wine cooler

Rhymes for cooler

• jeweller
• ruler
• schooler
• schuller
• preschooler
• vestibular

Kids Definition

cooler

noun

cool·​er ˈkü-lər 

: a container for keeping food or drink cool