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.
Idioms
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 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 Englishcald, ceald; cognate with Gothickalds,Old Norsekaldr,Germankalt,Dutchkoud; akin to Latingel- in gelidusgelid
Related formscold·ish, adjectivecold·ly, adverbcold·ness, nouno·ver·cold, adjectiveo·ver·cold·ly, adverb
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.
British Dictionary definitions for out in the cold
cold
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
metallurgydenoting 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 comfortlittle or no comfort
cold steelthe use of bayonets, knives, etc, in combat
from coldwithout advance notice; without giving preparatory information
in cold bloodshowing no passion; deliberately; ruthlessly
leave someone coldinformalto fail to excite someonethe performance left me cold
throw cold water onorpour cold water oninformalto 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 coldorout in the coldinformalneglected; ignored
an acute viral infection of the upper respiratory passages characterized by discharge of watery mucus from the nose, sneezing, etc
catch a coldslangto make a loss; lose one's investment
adverb
informalwithout preparationhe played his part cold
informal, mainlyUS and Canadianthoroughly; absolutelyshe turned him down cold
Old English cald (Anglian), ceald (West Saxon) "cold, cool" (adj.), "coldness," from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon kald, Old High German and German kalt, Old Norse kaldr, Gothic kalds "cold"), possibly a past participle adjective of *kal-/*kol-, from PIE root *gel-/*gol- "cold" (cf. Latin gelare "to freeze," gelu "frost," glacies "ice").
Meaning "not strong" (in reference to scent) is 1590s, from hunting. Cold front in weather is from 1921. Cold-call in the sales pitch sense first recorded 1972. Japanese has two words for "cold:" samui for coldness in the atmosphere or environment; tsumetai for things which are cold to touch, and also in the figurative sense, with reference to personalities, behaviors, etc.
cold
n.
c.1300, "coldness," from cold (adj.). Sense in common cold is 1530s, from symptoms resembling those of exposure to cold; cf. earlier senses "indisposition caused by exposure to cold" (early 14c.); "discomfort caused by cold" (c.1300).
A viral infection characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the upper respiratory passages and usually accompanied by malaise, fever, chills, coughing, and sneezing.coryzaacute rhinitiscommon coldcoryza
Excluded from benefits given to others, neglected, as in Her stand on abortion left her out in the cold with the party. This idiom alludes to being left outdoors without shelter. [Mid-1800s] Also see come in from the cold.
