in a cold sweat
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the harried solo parent of a sick child, Byrne lets the camera zoom in so close to her character’s insecurities that the audience breaks out in a cold sweat.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
If the thought of configuring a VPN makes you break out in a cold sweat, this one’s for you.
From Salon • Feb. 11, 2026
Charles Green, Imran Ahmad, Derek Llambias, Barry Leach, David Somers - all these and more still have the capacity to make some on the current board break out in a cold sweat.
From BBC • Sep. 24, 2024
"Even when I realise I am not in Kuta traffic, I can shake in fear, break out in a cold sweat and feel really scared."
From Reuters • Oct. 11, 2022
Whenever I got near one of them, I invariably broke out in a cold sweat and lost the ability to speak in complete sentences.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
