cold

[ kohld ]

/ koʊld /

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See synonyms for: cold / coldest / coldish / coldly on Thesaurus.com

adjective, cold·er, cold·est.

having a relatively low temperature; having little or no warmth: cold water; a cold day.

feeling an uncomfortable lack of warmth; chilled: The skaters were cold.

having a temperature lower than the normal temperature of the human body:cold hands.

lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.; dispassionate: cold reason.

not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive: a cold reply; a cold reception.

lacking sensual desire: She remained cold to his advances.

failing to excite feeling or interest: the cold precision of his prose.

unexcitable; imperturbable: cold impassivity.

depressing; dispiriting: the cold atmosphere of a hospital waiting room.

unconscious because of a severe blow, shock, etc.: I knocked him cold with an uppercut.

lacking the warmth of life; lifeless: When the doctor arrived, the body was already cold.

faint; weak: The dogs lost the cold scent.

(in games) distant from the object of search or the correct answer.

Slang. (in sports and games) not scoring or winning; ineffective: Cold shooting and poor rebounding were their undoing.

Art.

having cool colors, especially muted tones tending toward grayish blue.
being a cool color.

slow to absorb heat, as a soil containing a large amount of clay and hence retentive of moisture.

Metalworking. noting or pertaining to any process involving plastic deformation of a metal at a temperature below that at which recrystallization can occur because of the strain: cold working.

noun

the relative absence of heat: Everyone suffered from the intense cold.

the sensation produced by loss of heat from the body, as by contact with anything having a lower temperature than that of the body: He felt the cold of the steel door against his cheek.

cold weather: He can't take the cold.

Also called common cold. a respiratory disorder characterized by sneezing, sore throat, coughing, etc., caused by an allergic reaction or by a viral, bacterial, or mixed infection.

adverb

with complete competence, thoroughness, or certainty; absolutely: He learned his speech cold.

without preparation or prior notice: She had to play the lead role cold.

in an abrupt, unceremonious manner: He quit the job cold.

Metalworking. at a temperature below that at which recrystallization can occur (sometimes used in combination): to cold-hammer an iron bar; The wire was drawn cold.

OTHER WORDS FOR cold

1 frigid, gelid, frozen, freezing.

4 indifferent, uninvolved, cool, unconcerned, imperturbable.

5 apathetic, unsympathetic, unfeeling, heartless, polite, formal, reserved, unfriendly, inimical, hostile.

7 uninspiring, dull.

8 calm, deliberate.

See synonyms for cold on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR cold

1 hot.

4 warm, emotional.

13 warm.

See antonyms for cold on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about cold

catch / take cold, to get or suffer from a cold: We all caught cold during that dreadful winter.

go cold, Slang. (in sports and games) to become unproductive or ineffective; be unable to score.

in cold blood. blood (def. 20).

in from the cold, out of a position or condition of exile, concealment, isolation, or alienation: Since the new government promised amnesty, fugitive rebels are coming in from the cold.

left out in the cold, neglected; ignored; forgotten: After the baby came, the young husband felt left out in the cold.Also out in the cold.

throw cold water on, to disparage; disapprove of; dampen the enthusiasm of: They threw cold water on her hopes to take acting classes.

Origin of cold

before 950; Middle English; Old English cald, ceald; cognate with Gothic kalds,Old Norse kaldr,German kalt,Dutch koud; akin to Latin gel- in gelidusgelid

synonym study for cold

1. Cold, chill, chilly, cool refer to various degrees of absence of heat. Cold refers to temperature possibly so low as to cause suffering: cold water. Chill suggests a penetrating cold which causes shivering and numbness: There was a chill wind blowing. Chilly is a weaker word, though it also connotes shivering and discomfort: a chilly room. Cool means merely somewhat cold, not warm: cool and comfortable. All have figurative uses.

OTHER WORDS FROM cold

coldish, adjectivecoldly, adverbcoldness, nouno·ver·cold, adjective

o·ver·cold·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cold in a sentence

Only as the weather gets colder will researchers know for sure whether their efforts were successful.
Aporkalypse Now: Pig-Killing Virus Could Mean the End of Bacon|Carrie Arnold|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He has to act colder towards her and try harder to make her clear that this relationship is not safe anymore.
Game of Thrones’ Sibel Kekilli Discusses Shae’s Treachery at the Trial of Tyrion Lannister|Marlow Stern|May 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I viewed the Zooey character as the colder one, and more culpable.
Marc Webb Takes Us Inside ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ and Discusses His Rise to the A-List|Marlow Stern|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In December 2013, North America was colder than average, but Russia and most of Europe were far hotter.
From Snowy Atlanta to Sunny Sochi, It's All About Global Weirding|Scott Bixby|February 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The colds get colder, the hots get hotter, and the hurricanes get more destructive.
From Snowy Atlanta to Sunny Sochi, It's All About Global Weirding|Scott Bixby|February 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A change had come over him since they parted; he had grown fonder of his parents, but colder to her.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
Each day saw the wintry winds grow colder, and soon the ice upon Lake Luna was thick enough to bear.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
To the beautiful day had succeeded a beautiful evening, only, as the day had been cold, the evening was still colder.
Chicot the Jester|Alexandre Dumas, Pere
It is colder and has been blowing a gale up to now, but I expect it will turn to rain again when the wind drops.
Letters of Lt.-Col. George Brenton Laurie|George Brenton Laurie
Still, if the weather gets colder, I can put on a second pair of socks under them.
Letters of Lt.-Col. George Brenton Laurie|George Brenton Laurie

British Dictionary definitions for cold

cold

/ (kəʊld) /

adjective

having relatively little warmth; of a rather low temperaturecold weather; cold hands

without sufficient or proper warmththis meal is cold

lacking in affection, enthusiasm, or warmth of feelinga cold manner

not affected by emotion; objectivecold logic

dead

sexually unresponsive or frigid

lacking in freshnessa cold scent; cold news

chilling to the spirit; depressing

(of a colour) having violet, blue, or green predominating; giving no sensation of warmth

metallurgy denoting or relating to a process in which work-hardening occurs as a result of the plastic deformation of a metal at too low a temperature for annealing to take place

(of a process) not involving heat, in contrast with traditional methodscold typesetting; cold technology

informal (of a seeker) far from the object of a search

denoting the contacting of potential customers, voters, etc, without previously approaching them in order to establish their interestcold mailing

cold comfort little or no comfort

cold steel the use of bayonets, knives, etc, in combat

from cold without advance notice; without giving preparatory information

in cold blood showing no passion; deliberately; ruthlessly

leave someone cold informal to fail to excite someonethe performance left me cold

throw cold water on or pour cold water on informal to be unenthusiastic about or discourage

noun

the absence of heat regarded as a positive forcethe cold took away our breath

the sensation caused by loss or lack of heat

in the cold or out in the cold informal neglected; ignored

an acute viral infection of the upper respiratory passages characterized by discharge of watery mucus from the nose, sneezing, etc

catch a cold slang to make a loss; lose one's investment

adverb

informal without preparationhe played his part cold

informal, mainly US and Canadian thoroughly; absolutelyshe turned him down cold

Derived forms of cold

coldish, adjectivecoldly, adverbcoldness, noun

Word Origin for cold

Old English ceald; related to Old Norse kaldr, Gothic kalds, Old High German kalt; see cool

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with cold

cold

In addition to the idioms beginning with cold

cold cash
cold comfort
cold feet, get
cold fish
cold hands, warm heart
cold shoulder
cold shower
cold snap
cold storage
cold sweat
cold turkey

also see:

blow hot and cold
catch cold
come in from the cold
in a cold sweat
in cold blood
in cold storage
in the cold light of day
knock out (cold)
leave one cold
make one's blood run cold
out cold
out in the cold
pour cold water on
stone cold
stop cold

cold

OTHER WORDS FOR cold

OPPOSITES FOR cold

Idioms about cold

Origin of cold

synonym study for cold

OTHER WORDS FROM cold

Words related to cold

How to use cold in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cold

Derived forms of cold

Word Origin for cold

Other Idioms and Phrases with cold