What does reefer mean?
A reefer is equipment that keeps goods cold while they are being transported. The word may refer to a refrigerated cargo ship, a container or trailer carried by road or rail, or another refrigerated vehicle or compartment. In the shipping and logistics industries, it is an efficient, familiar term for equipment designed to preserve perishable goods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy products. In informal American English, a reefer also means a marijuana cigarette, a sense unrelated to refrigeration and generally limited to casual or colloquial contexts. The word is consequently useful for recognizing two quite different meanings: one concerned with cold-chain transport and the other with cannabis. Its strong association with shipping has made the technical sense particularly common in trade publications, transport documents, and everyday conversations within the freight industry.
nounA ship, vehicle, trailer, or container used to transport goods under refrigeration. Informally, a reefer can also mean a marijuana cigarette.
- A refrigerated ship used to transport perishable cargo.
- A refrigerated container, trailer, vehicle, or railway car used for the same purpose.
- Informally, a marijuana cigarette.
"The freight company loaded the reefer with chilled fruit before sending it across the country."
"The reefer is due to leave the port before dawn."
"They passed around a reefer while the film was playing."
Plural forms refer to multiple refrigerated vessels or conveyances, or, informally, multiple marijuana cigarettes.
"Several reefers were waiting to leave the cold-storage depot."
A reefer keeps cargo cold, while its slang meaning for a marijuana cigarette is far from chilled.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reefer come from?
Reefer is an English formation associated with refrigerate and refrigeration, ultimately referring to a vessel or installation that keeps its contents cold. It developed in connection with refrigerated transport in the early twentieth century. The separate informal meaning for a marijuana cigarette arose later in American slang, without sharing the practical sense of refrigerated equipment.
How reefer is actually used
In transport and logistics, the term is standard but specialized. Its cannabis sense is informal and especially associated with American English.