cold

[ kohld ]

/ koʊld /

Save This Word!

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

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

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.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

So why are his advisers suddenly comparing him to the coldest of Cold Warriors?
Rand Paul Gives War a Chance|Olivia Nuzzi|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Newt Gingrich As the President speaks, we will be experiencing one of the coldest winters in recent history.
'Crossfire' Predicts the State of the Union||January 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The coldest weather in decades has begun its march across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country.
Thank Global Warming for Freezing You Right Now|Eric Holthaus|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In fact, it may threaten the NFL record for the coldest game in the history of the league.
The Coldest Football Game Ever|Ben Jacobs|January 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“Justice-without-mercy must easily be the bleakest, coldest, combination of words in the language,” Salinger writes.
When Salinger Spoke Out: A Rare 1959 Public Letter Against Life in Prison|Nicolaus Mills|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Hilsea Green we used to reckon the coldest spot between Portsmouth and London.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries|Charles G. Harper
It is one of those events that excites sympathy in the hardest, and commiseration in the coldest.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
Love begins with love; and the warmest friendship cannot change even to the coldest love.
The 'Characters' of Jean de La Bruyre|Jean de La Bruyre
A farm of five hundred acres was secured within a week, the bleakest, coldest spot ever swept by ocean breezes anywhere.
Mrs. Raffles|John Kendrick Bangs
She held out her hand, and he could not pretend that he did not know her, but he gave her greeting of the coldest.
The Rake's Progress|Marjorie Bowen

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