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cold

Pronunciation: /kəʊld/
Translate cold | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of cold

adjective

  • 1of or at a low or relatively low temperature, especially when compared with the human body:a freezing cold day it’s cold outside a sharp, cold wind
  • (of a person) feeling uncomfortably cold:she was cold, and I put some more wood on the fire
  • (of food or drink) served or consumed without being heated or after cooling:a cold drink serve hot or cold
  • feeling or characterized by fear or horror:a cold shiver of fear
  • [as complement] informal unconscious:she was out cold
  • dead:lying cold and stiff in a coffin
  • 2lacking affection or warmth of feeling; unemotional:how cold and calculating he was her cold black eyes
  • not affected by emotion; objective:cold statistics
  • sexually unresponsive; frigid: Elise was cold and barren
  • depressing or dispiriting; not suggestive of warmth:a cold light streamed through the window
  • (of a colour) containing pale blue or grey.
  • 3(of the scent or trail of a hunted person or animal) no longer fresh and easy to follow:the trail went cold
  • [predic.] (in children’s games) far from finding or guessing what is sought.
  • 4 [as complement] without preparation or rehearsal:they went into the test cold
  • informal at one’s mercy:they had him cold

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] a low temperature; cold weather; a cold environment:my teeth chattered with the cold they nearly died of cold
  • 2a common infection in which the mucous membrane of the nose and throat becomes inflamed, typically causing running at the nose, sneezing, and a sore throat: Suzie’s got a cold a bad cold [as modifier]:a cold remedy

adverb

North American informal
  • completely; entirely:we stopped cold behind a turn in the staircase

Phrases

(as) cold as ice (or stone or the grave etc.)

very cold:her hand was as cold as ice

catch a cold

(also catch cold)
become infected with a cold.
encounter difficulties: the investors who have put up around $30 million could catch a cold

cold comfort

poor or inadequate consolation:another drop in the inflation rate was cold comfort for the 2.74 million jobless

cold feet

loss of nerve or confidence:after arranging to meet I got cold feet and phoned her saying I was busy

the cold shoulder

a show of intentional unfriendliness; rejection:the new England manager gave him the cold shoulder

cold-shoulder someone

reject or be deliberately unfriendly to someone: she was cold-shouldered by Boston society as a pushy outsider

cold steel

weapons such as swords or knives collectively: I say to you, give lawbreakers cold steel!

in cold blood

without feeling or mercy; ruthlessly:the government forces killed them in cold blood

in the cold light of day

when one has had time to consider a situation objectively:in the cold light of day it all seemed so ridiculous

out in the cold

ignored; neglected:the talks left the French out in the cold

throw (or pour) cold water on

be discouraging or negative about: she had poured cold water on the idea

Derivatives

coldish

adjective

coldness

noun

Origin:

Old English cald, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch koud and German kalt, also to Latin gelu 'frost'

cold in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of cold in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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