cold front
Americannoun
noun
-
the boundary line between a warm air mass and the cold air pushing it from beneath and behind as it moves
-
the line on the earth's surface where the cold front meets it
-
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.
-
Compare occluded front warm front See illustration at front
Etymology
Origin of cold front
First recorded in 1920–25
Compare meaning
How does cold-front compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Wednesday night's forecast currently looks like a cold front will move south across England and Wales bringing cloud and rain.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
The strongest winds will be on and ahead of a cold front that will move southwards through the day.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
"Frigid temperatures will expand across the eastern two-thirds of the country behind an Arctic cold front," the National Weather Service said in an advisory.
From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026
No one wants to intentionally ruin Thanksgiving by serving up an undercooked bird, or by serving up a cold front to one’s guests.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 27, 2025
The cold front rolls in overnight, just as the meteorologists predicted.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
