cold front
Americannoun
noun
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the boundary line between a warm air mass and the cold air pushing it from beneath and behind as it moves
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the line on the earth's surface where the cold front meets it
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The forward edge of an advancing mass of cold air that pushes under a mass of warm air. Cold fronts often cause precipitation; water vapor in the rising warm air condenses and forms clouds, often resulting in heavy rain, thunderstorms, hail, or snow. Winter cold fronts can cause temperatures to drop significantly. Summer cold fronts reduce humidity as drier, cooler air displaces the humid, warmer air. On a weather map, a cold front is depicted as a blue line with triangles that point in the direction in which the cold air is moving.
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Compare occluded front warm front See illustration at front
Etymology
Origin of cold front
First recorded in 1920–25
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Westerly winds and a weak cold front will eventually sweep fresher air in from the Atlantic by Sunday and next week is set to feel very different for most.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
A cold front off Portugal was "acting like a heat pump, drawing up warm air", he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
Once the cold front, with its heavy rain has moved through, there will be a very abrupt drop off in the strength of the wind.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
Meteorologists say the cold front will stretch from eastern New Mexico across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, and likely into Washington, D.C.,
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 24, 2026
They sought the warmth of the wind-breaking woods to wait for the cold front to pass.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
