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
Words Nearby cold
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cold in a sentence
It’s the kind of place where the waiter prepares things tableside, like mixing a Manhattan so cold a layer of ice floats on its surface, or tossing a Caesar salad with silver tongs.
We’re all fantasizing about post-covid dining now: “I just want someone to spill a beer on me” | Emily Heil | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostFor past initiatives, like his $2 billion homelessness directive, members of Bezos’s team cold-called people they knew to figure out who to donate to, instead of opening up a public channel.
Can Billionaires Really Save Us from Climate Disaster? | Heather Hansman | February 12, 2021 | Outside OnlineI use it every morning to loosen up my back, and if it’s too cold to run, I’ll go through a stretching routine or an online yoga session instead.
5 Pieces of Gear That Help Me Stay Active During Winter | Jakob Schiller | February 11, 2021 | Outside OnlineA cooler on the porch may be necessary to store meats and cold items.
Hints From Heloise: Grocery delivery has its pros and cons | Heloise Heloise | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostIt’s incredible how much comfort a nongreasy SPF moisturizer adds to your exposed skin on a cold ski day.
Outdoorsy Gear Guy–Approved Valentine's Day Gifts | Joe Jackson | February 10, 2021 | Outside Online
This is comedy based on a cold humor, detached, euphemistic, devoid of any generosity.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President | Pierre Assouline | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWe indulge in expensive cold-pressed juices and SoulCycle classes, justifying these purchases as investments in our health.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze | Lizzie Crocker | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTcold War fears could be manipulated through misleading art to attract readers to daunting material.
The vaccine is delivered through a “carrier virus” that causes a common cold in chimpanzees but does not affect humans.
Accusing his opponents of being locked in a cold War mind-set, it is Stone who is beholden to old orthodoxies.
Madame de Condillac stood watching him, her face composed, her glance cold.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniBeing quieted by the Captain with a draught of cold tea, and made to sit down, the examination of the book proceeded.
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneWhen alone she sometimes picked it up and kissed the cold glass passionately.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinSuch throats are trying, are they not?In case one catches cold; Ah, yes!
Turn we our backs to the cold gloomy north, to the wet windy west, to the dry parching east—on to the south!
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.
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