冷藏 literally means 'cold storage' — 冷 (lěng) means 'cold', and 藏 (cáng) means 'to store' or 'to preserve'. Together, they form a noun referring to the process or condition of keeping items at low temperatures to slow spoilage, especially food and medicines. It is commonly used in both everyday and technical contexts, such as appliance labels ('refrigerator' is 冰箱, but its function is 冷藏), food packaging ('keep refrigerated'), and medical logistics ('refrigerated transport').

This term emphasizes temperature-controlled preservation rather than freezing: 冷藏 typically implies cooling (0–4°C), whereas 冷冻 (lěng dòng) means 'freezing' (below 0°C). It’s often paired with verbs like 进行 (to carry out), 需要 (requires), or 保存 (to preserve), and appears in compound nouns like 冷藏柜 (refrigerated cabinet) and 冷藏室 (refrigeration compartment).