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.
The change is being brought about by a cold front that has been moving south-eastwards through Friday and Friday night, introducing winds from a cooler north-westerly direction, as well as bringing a few showers.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Central and eastern areas of Canada have also been hot, but a cold front is set to bring lower temperatures over the next few days.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
A cold front off Portugal was "acting like a heat pump, drawing up warm air", he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 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
The cold front rolls in overnight, just as the meteorologists predicted.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
