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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ Workplace gossip 🚰 A drink machine
watercooler

watercooler

2.7
A machine that gives cold drinking water in offices or public places
  • noun
  • /ˈwɔːtərˌkuːlər/
translation icon : dispensador de agua

Examples

  • You must be Mr. Burke, the one with the watercooler.

    Valley of the Dolls (1967)

  • During the break, employees gathered around the watercooler to discuss their weekend plans.

  • The sound of water gushing from the watercooler filled the quiet office as employees took turns filling their cups.

  • She filled her bottle at the watercooler before heading back to her desk.

Synonyms

water cooler
vswatercooler
3 2.1

A machine that cools and gives drinking water

is identical in meaning but written as one word rather than two

Surface Forms

watercooler singular
watercoolers plural

Morphology

watercooler = water + cooler (transparent) = water + cool + er

The compound is a straightforward combination 'water' + 'cooler' denoting a cooler associated with dispensing chilled water.

Etymology

Watercooler is a simple compound of water and cooler and names a machine that gives chilled drinking water in offices and public places. So it is the name for that device people use to get cold water.