cold snap

American  

noun

1. a sudden onset of a relatively brief period of cold weather.

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cold snap British  

noun

1. a sudden short spell of cold weather

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cold snap Idioms  

1. Also, cold spell. A short period of unusually cold weather, as in The recent cold snap has threatened the crop. The first expression presumably likens snap in the sense of “a sudden bite or cut” to sudden unexpected cold. The variant is more obvious, spell having been used in the sense of “a bout or turn at something” since the early 1700s. [Early 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of cold snap

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cold snap

He has already contended with two major snowstorms and a cold snap in which 19 people died from exposure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

This is the second major snowstorm of the first-time mayor's administration, coming after 19 people died during a three-week cold snap in January.

From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026

As a winter cold snap grips Germany, Berliners have been slip-sliding on ice-covered footpaths, driving a heated debate on whether the capital should use environmentally damaging salt to melt away the hazard.

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

“As soon as we get a cold snap, the chicories start to come out, and from the Veneto over into Friuli, you just have this, like huge variety of different radicchio species,” she says.”

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026

I was still trying to build a sturdy ladder when, during a cold snap a few days later, my can of paint froze solid.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Related Words

• cold spell
• cold wave
• cold weather