cold storage

American  

noun

1. the storage of food, furs, etc., in an artificially cooled place.

2. a condition of suspension of action or activity; abeyance.

---

cold storage British  

noun

1. the storage of things in an artificially cooled place for preservation

2. informal a state of temporary suspension

   to put an idea into cold storage

---

cold storage Idioms  

1. see in cold storage.

---

Etymology

Origin of cold storage

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

These vaccines also require cold storage and may cause unintended off-target effects.

From Science Daily • Mar. 17, 2026

Half of new medicines hitting the global market from 2023 to 2027 are expected to require cold storage, up from 37% of products launched between 2013 and 2017, according to healthcare research firm IQVIA.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025

Out of a single room, with no DNA testing facilities or cold storage units of its own, the forensics team at Gaza's Nasser hospital face the challenges brought by peace.

From BBC • Oct. 24, 2025

It is to replace a cold storage facility on the west side of the Los Angeles River with the mixed-use complex designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels Group.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2025

You couldn’t knock down the skyscrapers when the tenants left; so instead boards went over the windows and doors, and the great shells of commerce were put in cold storage.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides