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cold-water flat

American  
[kohld-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈkoʊldˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
  1. (formerly) an apartment provided with only cold running water, often in a building with no central heating.


Etymology

Origin of cold-water flat

First recorded in 1940–45

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.

Without hesitation, she abandons her family to live in Nicky’s London cold-water flat atop a dilapidated building of bohemians and immigrants.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2022

Ms. Abbott achieved early renown as a model, appearing on the cover of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, but spurned her glamorous upbringing to move into a cold-water flat in the East Village in 1946.

From Washington Post • Oct. 2, 2019

By 1948, three years after Roosevelt’s death, Adams and her 11 children and second husband were living in a cold-water flat in Harlem, New York City.

From Washington Times • Oct. 29, 2016

After graduating from Washington Irving High School in Manhattan, Ms. Morales moved to a cold-water flat in Manhattan and earned a living making papier-mâché models for department store windows.

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2015

Ellen had been well-heeled—suspiciously so for a girl who lived in a cold-water flat like that; he'd peeled fifteen tens from her wallet, and there'd been more, not to mention the twenties.

From Pursuit by Del Rey, Lester