: a refrigerant agent or agency: such as
a
: a medication for reducing body heat
b
: a substance used in refrigeration
Examples of refrigerant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Matt Crisara, Popular Mechanics, 21 Aug. 2023
Installing a mini-split is a pretty big job, because the refrigerant tube must travel through your wall from the exterior unit to the interior air handler, and the unit needs to hard-wired to your home's electrical system.
—Amber Nolan, Treehugger, 13 July 2023
To lessen refrigerant pollution and reduce waste, Windmill offers customers a recycling directory for safely disposing of their old AC unit.
—Sherrie Nachman, Forbes, 1 July 2022
According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the main HFO refrigerant chemical has a global warming potential of 4, while carbon dioxide, when used as a refrigerant, has a potential of 1.
—Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com, 22 Dec. 2020
Several thermal shields meant to keep ITER’s liquid helium refrigerant cold and protect the walls of the machine corroded and cracked because of the way the welds interacted with an acid used to wash the metal.
—Charles Seife, Scientific American, 15 June 2023
Owners need to keep an eye on fluids (coolant, refrigerant, windshield wash), tires, and brake pads and rotors, though the latter items ought to last longer than those of cars with internal combustion engines as the regenerative braking function of EVs puts less wear on the mechanical braking bits.
—Brendan McAleer, Car and Driver, 26 Oct. 2022
Declines in refrigerant emissions under previous cap-and-trade schemes were faster and cheaper than originally anticipated: CFCs, for example, were eliminated in the US within a decade after they were first targeted in 1997, despite an original plan calling for a 50% reduction over 12 years.
—Tim McDonnell, Quartz, 4 May 2021
At DuPont, the new arrangement housed the company's Freon refrigerant division.
—George Musser, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2023
Lauren Leffer, Scientific American, 29 Aug. 2023
There are several ways to cool things off, but the most common method is using a compressor and refrigerant.
—Rhett Allain, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2023
So the industry is keen to find alternate refrigerants.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Mar. 2023
Anhydrous ammonia is necessary for fertilizers and refrigerants.
—The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2023
Fans are cheaper to run than an air conditioner, use a fraction of the electricity consumed by A/C units, and do not require planet-heating refrigerants.
—Amber Nolan, Treehugger, 10 July 2023
Heat pumps are also compatible with natural refrigerants with lower climate impacts.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 July 2023
The regulations governing power plants come on the heels of other Biden administration plans to cut tailpipe emissions by speeding up the country’s transition to electric vehicles, to curb methane leaks from oil and gas wells and to phase down the use of a planet-warming chemical in refrigerants.
—Coral Davenport, New York Times, 11 May 2023
That refrigerant slowly leaks into the atmosphere over a heat pump’s lifetime – though most of the emissions occur at the end of its lifetime if the remaining refrigerant isn’t properly disposed of.
—Gwozniac, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2023
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Adjective
All air conditioners pump a refrigerant fluid—that absorbs heat—through a series of coils to move heat from one location to another.
—Matt Crisara, Popular Mechanics, 21 Aug. 2023
Installing a mini-split is a pretty big job, because the refrigerant tube must travel through your wall from the exterior unit to the interior air handler, and the unit needs to hard-wired to your home's electrical system.
—Amber Nolan, Treehugger, 13 July 2023
To lessen refrigerant pollution and reduce waste, Windmill offers customers a recycling directory for safely disposing of their old AC unit.
—Sherrie Nachman, Forbes, 1 July 2022
According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the main HFO refrigerant chemical has a global warming potential of 4, while carbon dioxide, when used as a refrigerant, has a potential of 1.
—Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com, 22 Dec. 2020
Several thermal shields meant to keep ITER’s liquid helium refrigerant cold and protect the walls of the machine corroded and cracked because of the way the welds interacted with an acid used to wash the metal.
—Charles Seife, Scientific American, 15 June 2023
Owners need to keep an eye on fluids (coolant, refrigerant, windshield wash), tires, and brake pads and rotors, though the latter items ought to last longer than those of cars with internal combustion engines as the regenerative braking function of EVs puts less wear on the mechanical braking bits.
—Brendan McAleer, Car and Driver, 26 Oct. 2022
Declines in refrigerant emissions under previous cap-and-trade schemes were faster and cheaper than originally anticipated: CFCs, for example, were eliminated in the US within a decade after they were first targeted in 1997, despite an original plan calling for a 50% reduction over 12 years.
—Tim McDonnell, Quartz, 4 May 2021
At DuPont, the new arrangement housed the company's Freon refrigerant division.
—George Musser, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2023
Noun
As a bonus, refrigerants—which are often greenhouse gases that are many times more potent than carbon dioxide—aren’t involved at all.
—Lauren Leffer, Scientific American, 29 Aug. 2023
There are several ways to cool things off, but the most common method is using a compressor and refrigerant.
—Rhett Allain, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2023
So the industry is keen to find alternate refrigerants.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Mar. 2023
Anhydrous ammonia is necessary for fertilizers and refrigerants.
—The Indianapolis Star, 25 July 2023
Fans are cheaper to run than an air conditioner, use a fraction of the electricity consumed by A/C units, and do not require planet-heating refrigerants.
—Amber Nolan, Treehugger, 10 July 2023
Heat pumps are also compatible with natural refrigerants with lower climate impacts.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 July 2023
The regulations governing power plants come on the heels of other Biden administration plans to cut tailpipe emissions by speeding up the country’s transition to electric vehicles, to curb methane leaks from oil and gas wells and to phase down the use of a planet-warming chemical in refrigerants.
—Coral Davenport, New York Times, 11 May 2023
That refrigerant slowly leaks into the atmosphere over a heat pump’s lifetime – though most of the emissions occur at the end of its lifetime if the remaining refrigerant isn’t properly disposed of.
—Gwozniac, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'refrigerant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Refrigerant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refrigerant. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
refrigerant
noun
re·frig·er·ant
ri-ˈfrij-(ə-)rənt
: a substance used in refrigeration
Medical Definition
refrigerant
1 of 2 adjective
re·frig·er·ant
ri-ˈfrij-(ə-)rənt 
: allaying heat or fever
refrigerant
2 of 2 noun
: a medicine or an application for allaying fever or its symptoms
More from Merriam-Webster on refrigerant
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about refrigerant
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