Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

water cooler

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.95 in modern English

Syllables: wa-ter -cool-er
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A dispenser of cooled drinking water.

noun

A location in the workplace where employees gather to chat or gossip.

noun

A type of cooling device that uses water as the heat transfer medium.

adj

Of the nature of things discussed around a water cooler.

Example Sentences

"In those days The Late Show was Monday water cooler topic du jour."
"water-cooler gossip, water-cooler talk, water-cooler conversation, water-cooler discussion"

Etymology

For the gossip sense, compare scuttlebutt, of similar origin.

Inflected Forms

water coolers (plural) water-cooler (alternative) watercooler (alternative)

Phrases

water cooler chat water cooler effect water cooler talk cracker-barrel

Frequently Paired Words

barroom cracker-barrel

Synonyms

water dispenser

Questions

What does water cooler mean?: A dispenser of cooled drinking water.
Where does water cooler come from?: For the gossip sense, compare scuttlebutt, of similar origin.

How to pronounce water cooler

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “water cooler”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “water cooler”.
Repeat and practice — Say “water cooler” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.