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I watched a video where the guy called the holes in ice trays "cuplets". I was sure this wasn't an official word, so I did a thorough Google search for what those were called but I could't find any definite answer.

What are the holes in ice trays called?

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    Sounds as good as anything. I'm sure the guys who design the things have a (Chinese) word for it, but nothing the Great Masses would be aware of.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 0:54
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    "Compartments" maybe. PLEASE let's not entertain "cubicles."
    – Rob_Ster
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 1:04
  • 3
    @Rob_Ster - But "cubicicle" would work nicely.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 1:31
  • @HotLicks - Too close to "icicle," which in parts of southern US is what one gets from sitting too long on a snowbank. (Gracias, El Nino...)
    – Rob_Ster
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 1:37
  • Cups, sections, or slots are what I use for whatever that's worth.
    – The Nate
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 16:15

5 Answers 5

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If you consider the ice tray to be a mould (noun definition 3; or mold for AmE) for ice, then the technical term would be a cavity.

Mold Cavity Hollow space, or cavity, in the mold, which is used to impart the desired form to the product being molded. - Engineering Dictionary

Here's one for sale on Amazon that describes the holes as cavities, and here's another I found on the internet. (I'm not knowingly affiliated with the sellers).

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    As a qualified mold designer, this is both technically correct and incorporates an admirable quantity of weaseltude: "not knowingly affiliated".
    – Spehro 'speff' Pefhany
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 4:28
  • @SpehroPefhany - Aremt
    – Peter Wone
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 4:56
  • @SpehroPefhany :) Look at this case. She put her earnings in a bank, and suddenly she's part-funded part of some mangrove-destroying shrimp-farm construction. So yes, not knowingly affiliated :) . Also, it's an explicit way to abide by this site's spam rules. By the way, thanks for the endorsement from a person working in the industry!
    – Lawrence
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 6:27
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    And +1 for "weaseltude" to you, too, Spehro.
    – The Nate
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 16:16
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they are called cells.

Visualize an upside-down ice cube tray, which is called an evaporator, placed upside down atop a molded water plate. The KOLD-DRAFT evaporator is refrigerated and has individual cells. The water plate has a hole for every cell, through which the water is vigorously pumped, injecting it to the top of each cell and down the four sides. Each cell acts as an individual freezing unit. The evaporator is solid copper for the most efficient heat transfer and Electrotin plated for protection against corrosion. Tin also has anti-microbial qualities and has been used to protect food and potable water for many years.

http://www.kold-draft.com/ice-making-technology/our-ice-making-technology.php

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I am not familiar with an official common name, so people are free to use whatever words they think appropriately describe those things. In addition to other provided answers (cavity, cells) or comments (compartments), I would suggest that a person fills each "section" of the tray with water.

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The dividers between the cavities are called mullions, similar to the bars separating panes of glass in a window. In an automatic ice maker a mullion heater facilitates ejection of the ice.

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A generic term that I would probably use for this in day-to-day speech, is slot.

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  • That's my most used term for it.
    – The Nate
    Commented Apr 9, 2016 at 16:17

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