cold feet
noun Informal.
a loss or lack of courage or confidence; an onset of uncertainty or fear: She got cold feet when asked to sing a solo.
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Origin of cold feet
First recorded in 1890–95
Words nearby cold feet
cold-draw, cold-drawn, cold drink, cold duck, Colden, cold feet, cold feet, get, cold fish, cold frame, cold front, cold fusion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for cold feet
cold feet
pl n
informal loss or lack of courage or confidence
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
Cultural definitions for cold feet
cold feet
To “have cold feet” is to be too fearful to undertake or complete an action: “The backup quarterback was called into the game, but he got cold feet and refused to go in.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.