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

QUIZ

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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

How the companies addressed those four challenges is likely the key to how cold the vaccines need to be, Mishra says.
Here’s why COVID-19 vaccines like Pfizer’s need to be kept so cold|Tina Hesman Saey|November 20, 2020|Science News
A coat that CYOAThere are different coats for different occasions and activities, but we should all have one for when we just don’t want to be cold.
The hottest gifts to buy for the friend who’s always cold|Sandra Gutierrez G.|November 20, 2020|Popular-Science
What’s more, there are opportunities to use insects for learning outdoors, even if in colder climates there might not be year-round opportunities as we have in Florida.
Insects can be the ultimate teaching tool for kids|By Kawahara, Ennes & Markee/The Conversation|November 20, 2020|Popular-Science
I pounded a cold instant coffee, dismantled camp, and rappelled.
On Sleeping in the Largest Organism on Earth|Leath Tonino|November 19, 2020|Outside Online

At the Judiciary Square testing site, hundreds of people wrapped around several city blocks Wednesday, bundled in scarves, blankets and headbands to fend off the cold.
As holidays approach, wait times rise for coronavirus tests amid record spike in cases|Meagan Flynn, Michael Brice-Saddler, Julie Zauzmer, Rachel Chason|November 18, 2020|Washington Post
Eleanor was even more bitter than her husband, refusing to forgive Barrow for his coldness.
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address|Ray Robinson|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This she did (we are not told how), and Beethoven reacted with ‘repellent coldness’.
Beethoven in Love: The Woman Who Captivated the Young Composer|John Suchet|January 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The result will be an epic cold air outbreak, with much of the coldness being channeled southward from Greenland.
After the Blizzard, 100 Million People Will Be Hit With Freezing Air From the North Pole|Eric Holthaus|January 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That coldness had begun to reflect in Carl, who shot and killed a teenage boy from Woodbury even as the kid was surrendering.
A Primer For ‘The Walking Dead’ Season Four Premiere|Melissa Leon|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They are identifiable by their coldness, pale skin, and ice-blue eyes.
‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3 for Dummies|Jace Lacob|March 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He had seen her name in a hotel list of Mentone; he surprised her with a visit; he was received with inexplicable coldness.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
The interior, however, lacks interest, and the absence of stained glass gives an air of coldness.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car|Thomas D. Murphy
Could Tessa have heard his voice, she would never again have accused him of coldness.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline|Jennie M. Drinkwater
Your anxiety lest any coldness should arise between Mr. E. and me will, I hope, prove groundless.
Private Letters of Edward Gibbon (1753-1794) Volume 1 (of 2)|Edward Gibbon
When the servant had gone out, a moment of silence fell between them, a glacial coldness.
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet

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