cold front

[ kohld fruhnt ]

noun

1. the zone separating two air masses, of which the cooler, denser mass is advancing and replacing the warmer.

cold front

noun

1. the boundary line between a warm air mass and the cold air pushing it from beneath and behind as it moves
2. the line on the earth's surface where the cold front meets it

cold front

1. The forward edge of an advancing mass of cold air that pushes under a mass of warm air. Cold fronts often cause precipitation; water vapor in the rising warm air condenses and forms clouds, often resulting in heavy rain, thunderstorms, hail, or snow. Winter cold fronts can cause temperatures to drop significantly. Summer cold fronts reduce humidity as drier, cooler air displaces the humid, warmer air. On a weather map, a cold front is depicted as a blue line with triangles that point in the direction in which the cold air is moving.
2. Compare occluded frontSee illustration at front

Word History and Origins

Origin of cold front¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

During the day Friday, we should climb up to near 50 before the inbound cold front brings another possible round of showers.

From Washington Post

Express forecastForecast in detailWe’re cooler but still mild today, ahead of a cold front that brings a chillier weekend.

From Washington Post

Sunshine should be more common on most days, but we’ll need to watch for more clouds tomorrow on Inauguration Day thanks to a cold front.

From Washington Post

To the west, an approaching cold front and low pressure system are marked by an arc of thick clouds and downpours curving from the Florida Panhandle north through the southern Appalachians and Ohio Valley toward Chicago.

From Washington Post

Low temperatures fall into the low to mid-30s near sunrise, behind our cold front.

From Washington Post

Consider the painting called “In the High Island Oil Field, February, After the Passage of a Cold Front,” from 1990.

From The Daily Beast

The cold front has set in, and everyone seems to have a lot of opinions this week.

From The Daily Beast

After breakfast grandmother and Jake and I bundled ourselves up and climbed into the cold front wagon-seat.

From Project Gutenberg

In sunshine nothing disturbed your peace while you contemplated its dry, cold front.

From Project Gutenberg

The passage of a cold-front storm may almost halt migration in spring.

From Project Gutenberg

On the first night, following the passage of a cold front, migration at Ottumwa was comparatively low (6,900 birds in five hours).

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cold snap
• cold spell
• cold wave