out cold

Idioms  

1. Also, out for the count; out like a light. Unconscious; also, asleep. For example, He crashed into the wall and was out cold, or Willie punched him too hard, and he was out for the count or Don't call Jane; she's out like a light by ten every night. The adjective cold refers to the lack of heat in a dead body and has been used to mean “unconscious” since the second half of the 1800s. The first variant comes from boxing, where a fighter who is knocked down must get up before the referee counts to ten or be declared defeated; it dates from about 1930. The last variant alludes to turning out a light and dates from the first half of the 1900s.

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Example Sentences

One minute you’re talking, the next you’re out cold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

The new study shows that dark matter does not necessarily need to start out cold.

From Science Daily • Jan. 15, 2026

Some found that shocking but that's how it is when a fighter gets knocked out cold.

From BBC • May 8, 2024

Gibbs questioned the man’s timeline with records from Spacey’s phone that appeared to show the actor called him during the time he claimed to be out cold on the sofa.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 10, 2023

The leader of Shin’s class, Hong Joo Hyun, who was supposed to be a kind of foreman for the day's work mission, was also out cold.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden