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

Arctic air is set to sweep across the UK this week, with a cold snap forecast to replace the spring warmth many have felt in recent days.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

The planet experienced its fifth-hottest January on record despite a cold snap that swept across the United States and Europe, the EU's climate monitor said Tuesday.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

At least 16 people have died in New York City during the cold snap, city officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 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

Go out in the early days of winter, after the first cold snap of the season.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• cold spell
• cold wave
• cold weather