root cellar

Meanings

nounroot cellar (plural root cellars)

A structure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other foods; it may be under a house or near one.
Potatoes can keep if they are in a root cellar.

verbroot cellar (third-person singular simple present root cellars, present participle root cellaring, simple past and past participle root cellared)

present singular third person root cellars · participle present root cellaring · participle past root cellared · past root cellared

transitiveTo cellar (food) in a root cellar.
The growers will root cellar whatever portion of the crop does not sell at harvest time.

nounan excavation where root vegetables are stored

Similar

Broader

excavationstorage space

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Finnish maakellari, maakuoppa

maakellaristructure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods
maakuoppastructure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods

German Erdkeller, Vorratskeller

Erdkellerstructure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods
Vorratskellerstructure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods

Russian погреб

погреб (pogreb)structure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods

Swedish jordkällare

jordkällarestructure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods

Turkish mahzen

mahzenstructure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods

Ukrainian льох, по́гріб

льох (lʹox)structure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods
по́гріб (póhrib)structure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods
пивни́ця (pyvnýcja)structure built underground or partially underground and used to store vegetables, fruits, and nuts or other foods

Cite this entry

APA

root cellar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/root%20cellar

MLA

“root cellar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/root%20cellar. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “root cellar,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/root%20cellar.