icebox

See also: ice box

English

Alternative forms

• ice-box

Etymology

From ice +‎ box.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʌɪsbɒks/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

icebox (plural iceboxes)

1. A box or compartment containing ice, typically used to keep provisions cool. [from 19th c.]
2. (UK) A compartment in a refrigerator that is colder than the rest of the refrigerator and is used as a freezer.
3. (US, dated) A refrigerator. [from 20th c.]
4. (US, slang) A city with a cold or snowy climate.

   I moved here from the icebox of the upper Midwest.

5. (US, slang) A prison. [from 20th c.]
   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 53:

     ‘The sister ran after them and brought them back and had Owen heaved into the icebox.’

6. (US, slang) A morgue.

Synonyms

• cool box
• cooler
• coolbox
• chilly bin (New Zealand)
• esky (Australia)

Derived terms

• icebox cake
• icebox pie

Descendants

• → Sabah Malay: aisbuk

Translations

box or compartment containing ice

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 冰箱 (zh) (bīngxiāng)

• Finnish: jäälaatikko (box); jäälokero (compartment)
• French: glacière (fr) f
• German: Eisschrank (de) m
• Italian: ghiacciaia f
• Japanese: 冷蔵箱 (れいぞうばこ, reizōbako)
• Plautdietsch: Iessschaup n
• Polish: lodówka (pl) f
• Russian: холоди́льник (ru) m (xolodílʹnik), ле́дник (ru) m (lédnik)
• Tagalog: nebera
• Turkish: buzluk (tr)

compartment of a refrigerator used as a freezer

• Finnish: pakastelokero (fi)
• French: congélateur (fr) m, compartiment à glaçons m
• Greek: χύξη f (chýxi)
• Italian: congelatore (it) m, freezer (it)
• Maori: pākatio
• Russian: морози́лка (ru) f (morozílka)
• Swedish: frysfack (sv) n
• Turkish: buzluk (tr)

refrigerator — see refrigerator

Further reading

• icebox on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Adjective

icebox (not comparable)

1. (slang) agreeable, awesome. (as a superlative of cool)
   • 1982, Alexei Sayle, The Young Ones‎^[1]:

     MIKE: Yeah, yeah, so. So we'll forget about the rent, we'll pay you another time, is that cool?
     BALOWSKI: Yes, that's absolutely icebox! See you later, Ford Anglia!