cold

[ kohld ]

adjective

, cold·er, cold·est.

1. having a relatively low temperature; having little or no warmth:

   cold water; a cold day.

   Synonyms: freezing, frozen, gelid, frigid

   Antonyms: hot

2. feeling an uncomfortable lack of warmth; chilled:

   The skaters were cold.

3. having a temperature lower than the normal temperature of the human body:

   cold hands.

4. lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.; dispassionate:

   cold reason.

   Synonyms: uninvolved, imperturbable, unconcerned, cool, indifferent

   Antonyms: emotional, warm

5. not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive:

   a cold reply; a cold reception.

   Synonyms: unsympathetic, unfriendly, reserved, formal, polite, heartless, unfeeling, apathetic, hostile, inimical

6. lacking sensual desire:

   She remained cold to his advances.

7. failing to excite feeling or interest:

   the cold precision of his prose.

   Synonyms: uninspiring, dull

8. unexcitable; imperturbable:

   cold impassivity.

   Synonyms: deliberate, calm

9. depressing; dispiriting:

   the cold atmosphere of a hospital waiting room.

10. unconscious because of a severe blow, shock, etc.:

    I knocked him cold with an uppercut.

11. lacking the warmth of life; lifeless:

    When the doctor arrived, the body was already cold.

12. faint; weak:

    The dogs lost the cold scent.

13. (in games) distant from the object of search or the correct answer.

    Antonyms: warm

14. Slang. (in sports and games) not scoring or winning; ineffective:

    Cold shooting and poor rebounding were their undoing.

15. Art.
    1. having cool colors, especially muted tones tending toward grayish blue.
    2. being a cool color.
16. slow to absorb heat, as a soil containing a large amount of clay and hence retentive of moisture.
17. 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

1. the relative absence of heat:

   Everyone suffered from the intense cold.

2. 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.

3. cold weather:

   He can't take the cold.

4. 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

1. with complete competence, thoroughness, or certainty; absolutely:

   He learned his speech cold.

2. without preparation or prior notice:

   She had to play the lead role cold.

3. in an abrupt, unceremonious manner:

   He quit the job cold.

4. 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.

cold

/ kəʊld /

adjective

1. having relatively little warmth; of a rather low temperature

   cold hands

   cold weather

2. without sufficient or proper warmth

   this meal is cold

3. lacking in affection, enthusiasm, or warmth of feeling

   a cold manner

4. not affected by emotion; objective

   cold logic

5. dead
6. sexually unresponsive or frigid
7. lacking in freshness

   cold news

   a cold scent

8. chilling to the spirit; depressing
9. (of a colour) having violet, blue, or green predominating; giving no sensation of warmth
10. metallurgy denoting 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
11. (of a process) not involving heat, in contrast with traditional methods

    cold technology

    cold typesetting

12. informal.
    (of a seeker) far from the object of a search
13. denoting the contacting of potential customers, voters, etc, without previously approaching them in order to establish their interest

    cold mailing

14. cold comfort
    little or no comfort
15. cold steel
    the use of bayonets, knives, etc, in combat
16. from cold
    without advance notice; without giving preparatory information
17. in cold blood
    showing no passion; deliberately; ruthlessly
18. leave someone cold informal.
    to fail to excite someone

    the performance left me cold

19. throw cold water on or pour cold water on informal.
    to be unenthusiastic about or discourage

noun

1. the absence of heat regarded as a positive force

   the cold took away our breath

2. the sensation caused by loss or lack of heat
3. in the cold or out in the cold informal.
   neglected; ignored
4. an acute viral infection of the upper respiratory passages characterized by discharge of watery mucus from the nose, sneezing, etc
5. catch a cold slang.
   to make a loss; lose one's investment

adverb

1. informal.
   without preparation

   he played his part cold

2. informal.
   thoroughly; absolutely

   she turned him down cold

Derived Forms

• ˈcoldish, adjective
• ˈcoldly, adverb
• ˈcoldness, noun

Other Words From

• coldish adjective
• coldly adverb
• coldness noun
• over·cold adjective
• over·coldly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cold¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English cald, ceald; cognate with Gothic kalds, Old Norse kaldr, German kalt, Dutch koud; akin to Latin gel- in gelidus gelid

Word History and Origins

Origin of cold¹

Old English ceald; related to Old Norse kaldr, Gothic kalds, Old High German kalt; see cool

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. catch / take cold, to get or suffer from a cold:

   We all caught cold during that dreadful winter.

2. go cold, Slang. (in sports and games) to become unproductive or ineffective; be unable to score.
3. 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.

4. left out in the cold, neglected; ignored; forgotten: Also out in the cold.

   After the baby came, the young husband felt left out in the cold.

5. throw cold water on, to disparage; disapprove of; dampen the enthusiasm of:

   They threw cold water on her hopes to take acting classes.

6. in cold blood. blood ( def 20 ).

More idioms and phrases containing cold

• blow hot and cold
• catch cold
• come in from the cold
• in a cold sweat
• in cold blood
• in cold storage
• in the cold light of day
• knock out (cold)
• leave one cold
• make one's blood run cold
• out cold
• out in the cold
• pour cold water on
• stone cold
• stop cold

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

When the Riverside County district attorney’s office put the DNA from Gonzalez’s cold case into a database, they found a woman who was a potential relative of the unidentified killer.

From Los Angeles Times

This sets off a chain reaction of events culminating in the creation of a “polar vortex” with more extreme cold, storminess and snow.

From Salon

Water vapor is typically scarce, and using indoor air to drive the hydration reaction can reduce the building's humidity to an uncomfortable level while the cold outside air contains limited moisture.

From Science Daily

The couple even hired a bloodhound handler to track Mushie’s scent from the dogsitter’s home to a nearby spot where the trail stopped cold.

From Los Angeles Times

At energy firm Utilita’s Hampshire call centre on a very cold day earlier this week, I witnessed the cost of living pressures on the frontline.

From BBC

Related Words

• chill
• snow

More About Cold

What is a basic definition of cold?

Cold is an adjective that describes something that lacks heat or has a low temperature. Cold also describes someone as being unemotional or detached. As a noun, cold often refers to a respiratory illness that involves sneezing and congestion. The word cold has many other senses as an adjective, noun, and adverb.

If something is cold, it lacks heat or has a low temperature. For example, cold water would have a temperature that approaches 0 degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit. A cold steak is one that hasn’t been cooked (heated) or one that has just emerged from a freezer. Cold is the opposite of hot.

In a related sense, the word cold is used to describe the feeling you have when you lack heat or are exposed to freezing conditions that remove heat from you. This feeling often involves involuntary behavior such as shivering, getting goosebumps, teeth chattering, or skin turning blue.

• Real-life examples: Ice cubes, snow, and the North Pole are examples of things that are cold. Sticking your hand into a bucket of ice water will make you feel really cold. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter months of December, January, and February are when the weather and air get really cold.
• Used in a sentence:
  • I put on a jacket and gloves because it was really cold outside.
  • He turned up the thermostat after his mother said she was cold. 

Related to this sense, cold can mean a lack of heat or cold weather (usually in the form of “the cold”).

• Used in a sentence: I couldn’t handle the extreme cold of the lake.

The word cold can also describe someone as being aloof, unemotional, or unwelcoming. This sense of cold is often used negatively to accuse a person of being cruel, uncaring, merciless, or lacking empathy.

• Used in a sentence: He was a cold man who rarely ever smiled. 

As a noun, cold is frequently used to mean a respiratory illness that involves sneezing and congestion, often referred to as “a common cold.” When used in this sense, a person is said to have “a cold” rather than “the cold.” Colds are rarely serious. They usually involve several days of congestion in your nose or lungs, a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, or similar, minor respiratory problems.

• Used in a sentence: Jade was sneezing all day at work today because she had a cold.

Where does cold come from?

The first records of cold come from before the 950s. It ultimately comes from the Old English ceald and is related to the Old Norse kaldr, the Gothic kalds, and the Old High German kalt.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to cold?

• coldish (adjective)
• coldly (adverb)
• coldness (noun)
• overcold (adjective)
• overcoldly (adverb)

What are some synonyms for cold?

• chilly
• frigid
• freezing
• aloof
• distant
• icy

What are some words that share a root or word element with cold? 

• cold-blooded
• cold feet
• cold shoulder
• cold storage
• cold turkey

What are some words that often get used in discussing cold?

• hot
• temperature
• ice
• snow
• winter
• frozen
• chill
• shiver
• hypothermia
• sick

How is cold used in real life?

Cold is a very common word that most often describes something as lacking heat.

This winter everything is too cold… the hands, the feet and the hearts 🥶💙

— Mariam Ayub (@i_m_mariam) December 28, 2020

It's so cold out that while we were walking the dogs, I could feel the fluids in my eyeballs freeze.

Perfect weather! XD

— KrimsonRogue (@KrimsonRogue) December 26, 2020

Really cold right now so probably won't get around to painting today because I'm hudled up in blankets 🥶

— Meg (@AuroraBoreowlis) December 27, 2020

 

 

Try using cold!

Which of the following items is most likely to be described as being cold?

A. an ice cube
B. the Sun
C. fire
D. an erupting volcano