in cold storage

Idioms  

1. In a state of abeyance or postponement. For example, We can't consider these design changes now; let's put them in cold storage for a year or so. This expression alludes to the literal storage of food, furs, or other objects in a refrigerated place. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in cold storage

In a lawsuit, they allege Mercy San Juan Medical Center failed to tell them she died, and instead put her body in cold storage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2025

Its remains have been placed in cold storage whilst DNA testing takes place, with experts saying it may take several weeks before a final identification is confirmed.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2024

The researchers also simulated a potential mitigation, placing honey bee hive boxes in cold storage so the bees start to cluster earlier and save workers.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2024

The plaintiffs are former patients at the clinic who had become parents through successful implantation of other embryos they had helped to create, but who had opted to leave the remaining ones in cold storage.

From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2024

You couldn’t knock down the skyscrapers when the tenants left; so instead boards went over the windows and doors, and the great shells of commerce were put in cold storage.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides