water cooler

See synonyms for water cooler on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of water cooler

1
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use water cooler in a sentence

  • He got up, lurching to the motion of the flying train, and started forward to the water cooler behind the car door.

    The Escape of Mr. Trimm | Irvin S. Cobb
  • He went to the water cooler, filled the glass with cold water and presented it to the young lady.

  • After a copious raid on the water-cooler, Theodora returned, feeling a little bloated, but much more composed and natural.

    Atlantic Narratives | Mary Antin
  • At his side lay the torso of the young reporter, his head mashed by the heavy water-cooler.

    The Promise | James B. Hendryx
  • In getting a small boat see that it is a "water cooler," as an air-cooler will run a few minutes and stop, as the piston swells.

    The houseboat book | William F. Waugh

British Dictionary definitions for water cooler

water cooler

noun
  1. a device for cooling and dispensing drinking water

adjectivewater-cooler
  1. informal

    • indicating the kind of informal conversation among office staff that takes place at such a dispenser: water-cooler conversations

    • 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