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icebox

UK /ˈʌɪsbɒks/noun, adjective

icebox is spelled I-C-E-B-O-X: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, icebox means “A box or compartment containing ice, typically used to keep provisions cool” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of icebox is iceboxes.

How many letters and syllables are in icebox?

Letters6: I-C-E-B-O-X
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is icebox?

Icebox appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce icebox?

  • UK /ˈʌɪsbɒks/

Icebox has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-icebox.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with icebox

Also written: ice-box (one word or two).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of icebox

  • iceboxes plural
  • ice-box

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does icebox mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A box or compartment containing ice, typically used to keep provisions cool.

  2. 2

    UKA compartment in a refrigerator that is colder than the rest of the refrigerator and is used as a freezer.

  3. 3

    USdatedA refrigerator.

  4. 4

    USslangA city with a cold or snowy climate.

    I moved here from the icebox of the upper Midwest.

  5. 5

    USslangA prison.

  6. 6

    USslangA morgue.

adjective

  1. 1

    slangagreeable, awesome. (as a superlative of cool)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Icebox in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchglacière (box or compartment containing ice), congélateur, compartiment à glaçons (compartment of a refrigerator used as a freezer)
GermanEisschrank (box or compartment containing ice)
Spanishhielera, nevera (box or compartment containing ice)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does icebox come from?

From ice + box.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after icebox