cold
having a relatively low temperature; having little or no warmth: cold water; a cold day.
feeling an uncomfortable lack of warmth; chilled: The skaters were cold.
having a temperature lower than the normal temperature of the human body: cold hands.
lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.; dispassionate: cold reason.
not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive: a cold reply; a cold reception.
lacking sensual desire: She remained cold to his advances.
failing to excite feeling or interest: the cold precision of his prose.
unexcitable; imperturbable: cold impassivity.
depressing; dispiriting: the cold atmosphere of a hospital waiting room.
unconscious because of a severe blow, shock, etc.: I knocked him cold with an uppercut.
lacking the warmth of life; lifeless: When the doctor arrived, the body was already cold.
faint; weak: The dogs lost the cold scent.
(in games) distant from the object of search or the correct answer.
Slang. (in sports and games) not scoring or winning; ineffective: Cold shooting and poor rebounding were their undoing.
Art.
having cool colors, especially muted tones tending toward grayish blue.
being a cool color.
slow to absorb heat, as a soil containing a large amount of clay and hence retentive of moisture.
Metalworking. noting or pertaining to any process involving plastic deformation of a metal at a temperature below that at which recrystallization can occur because of the strain: cold working.
the relative absence of heat: Everyone suffered from the intense cold.
the sensation produced by loss of heat from the body, as by contact with anything having a lower temperature than that of the body: He felt the cold of the steel door against his cheek.
cold weather: He can't take the cold.
Also called common cold. a respiratory disorder characterized by sneezing, sore throat, coughing, etc., caused by an allergic reaction or by a viral, bacterial, or mixed infection.
with complete competence, thoroughness, or certainty; absolutely: He learned his speech cold.
without preparation or prior notice: She had to play the lead role cold.
in an abrupt, unceremonious manner: He quit the job cold.
Metalworking. at a temperature below that at which recrystallization can occur (sometimes used in combination): to cold-hammer an iron bar; The wire was drawn cold.
Idioms about cold
catch / take cold, to get or suffer from a cold: We all caught cold during that dreadful winter.
go cold, Slang. (in sports and games) to become unproductive or ineffective; be unable to score.
in cold blood. blood (def. 20).
in from the cold, out of a position or condition of exile, concealment, isolation, or alienation: Since the new government promised amnesty, fugitive rebels are coming in from the cold.
left out in the cold, neglected; ignored; forgotten: After the baby came, the young husband felt left out in the cold.: Also out in the cold.
throw cold water on, to disparage; disapprove of; dampen the enthusiasm of: They threw cold water on her hopes to take acting classes.
Origin of cold
1synonym study For cold
Other words for cold
Opposites for cold
Other words from cold
- coldish, adjective
- coldly, adverb
- coldness, noun
- o·ver·cold, adjective
- o·ver·cold·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cold in a sentence
So why are his advisers suddenly comparing him to the coldest of cold Warriors?
Newt Gingrich As the President speaks, we will be experiencing one of the coldest winters in recent history.
The coldest weather in decades has begun its march across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country.
In fact, it may threaten the NFL record for the coldest game in the history of the league.
“Justice-without-mercy must easily be the bleakest, coldest, combination of words in the language,” Salinger writes.
When Salinger Spoke Out: A Rare 1959 Public Letter Against Life in Prison | Nicolaus Mills | December 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Hilsea Green we used to reckon the coldest spot between Portsmouth and London.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries | Charles G. HarperIt is one of those events that excites sympathy in the hardest, and commiseration in the coldest.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamLove begins with love; and the warmest friendship cannot change even to the coldest love.
The 'Characters' of Jean de La Bruyre | Jean de La BruyreA farm of five hundred acres was secured within a week, the bleakest, coldest spot ever swept by ocean breezes anywhere.
Mrs. Raffles | John Kendrick BangsShe held out her hand, and he could not pretend that he did not know her, but he gave her greeting of the coldest.
The Rake's Progress | Marjorie Bowen
British Dictionary definitions for cold
/ (kəʊld) /
having relatively little warmth; of a rather low temperature: cold weather; cold hands
without sufficient or proper warmth: this meal is cold
lacking in affection, enthusiasm, or warmth of feeling: a cold manner
not affected by emotion; objective: cold logic
dead
sexually unresponsive or frigid
lacking in freshness: a cold scent; cold news
chilling to the spirit; depressing
(of a colour) having violet, blue, or green predominating; giving no sensation of warmth
metallurgy denoting or relating to a process in which work-hardening occurs as a result of the plastic deformation of a metal at too low a temperature for annealing to take place
(of a process) not involving heat, in contrast with traditional methods: cold typesetting; cold technology
informal (of a seeker) far from the object of a search
denoting the contacting of potential customers, voters, etc, without previously approaching them in order to establish their interest: cold mailing
cold comfort little or no comfort
cold steel the use of bayonets, knives, etc, in combat
from cold without advance notice; without giving preparatory information
in cold blood showing no passion; deliberately; ruthlessly
leave someone cold informal to fail to excite someone: the performance left me cold
throw cold water on or pour cold water on informal to be unenthusiastic about or discourage
the absence of heat regarded as a positive force: the cold took away our breath
the sensation caused by loss or lack of heat
in the cold or out in the cold informal neglected; ignored
an acute viral infection of the upper respiratory passages characterized by discharge of watery mucus from the nose, sneezing, etc
catch a cold slang to make a loss; lose one's investment
informal without preparation: he played his part cold
informal, mainly US and Canadian thoroughly; absolutely: she turned him down cold
Origin of cold
1Derived forms of cold
- coldish, adjective
- coldly, adverb
- coldness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with cold
In addition to the idioms beginning with cold
- cold cash
- cold comfort
- cold feet, get
- cold fish
- cold hands, warm heart
- cold shoulder
- cold shower
- cold snap
- cold storage
- cold sweat
- cold turkey
also see:
- blow hot and cold
- catch cold
- come in from the cold
- in a cold sweat
- in cold blood
- in cold storage
- in the cold light of day
- knock out (cold)
- leave one cold
- make one's blood run cold
- out cold
- out in the cold
- pour cold water on
- stone cold
- stop cold
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse