cold shower

Idioms

A surprisingly chilly reception, reaction, or response, as in The small voter turnout was a cold shower to the League of Women Voters. The allusion in this term is to the unexpected and not always pleasant effect of an ice-cold shower. [Second half of 1900s]

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.

See Examples For:

cold shower

Participants briefly cooled down under a cold shower halfway through the session.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

"I was last this morning," the mother-of-three smiles, "so I had the cold shower."

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

"He was very firm. It was a cold shower," one source shared.

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2025

Other cooling methods include wetting the skin, soaking clothing with cool water and taking a cold shower or bath if possible.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 5, 2023

A few minutes after the race, Louie stood under a cold shower.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023