cold

adjective

\ˈkōld

Definition of cold

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : having or being a temperature that is uncomfortably low for humans it is cold outside today a cold drafty attic

b : having a relatively low temperature or one lower than normal or expected the bath water has gotten cold

c : not heated: such as

(1) of food : served without heating especially after initial cooking or processing cold cereal cold roast beef

(2) : served chilled or with ice a cold drink

(3) : involving processing without the use of heat cold working of steel

2a : marked by a lack of the warmth of normal human emotion, friendliness, or compassion a cold stare got a cold reception also : not moved to enthusiasm the movie leaves me cold

b : not colored or affected by personal feeling or bias : detached, indifferent cold chronicles recorded by an outsider— Andrew Sarris also : impersonal, objective cold facts cold reality

c : marked by sure familiarity : pat had her lines cold weeks before opening night

3 : conveying the impression of being cold: such as

a : depressing, gloomy cold gray skies

b : cool sense 6a

4a : marked by the loss of normal body heat cold hands especially : dead … she lay cold and still—she was gone … — Upton Sinclair

b : giving the appearance of being dead : unconscious passed out cold

5a : having lost freshness or vividness : stale dogs trying to pick up a cold scent

b : far off the mark : not close to finding or solving —used especially in children's games

c : marked by poor or unlucky performance the team's shooting turned cold in the second half

d : not prepared or suitably warmed up The player's sub entered the game cold.

in cold blood

: with premeditation : deliberately was killed in cold blood

cold

noun

Definition of cold (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : bodily sensation produced by loss or lack of heat they died of the cold

2 : a condition of low temperature extremes of heat and cold especially : cold weather He waited outside for her in the bitter cold.

3 : a bodily disorder popularly associated with chilling specifically : common cold She came down with a cold.

out in the cold

: deprived of benefits given others the plan benefits management but leaves labor out in the cold

cold

adverb

Definition of cold (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : with utter finality : absolutely, completely turned down cold also : abruptly stopped them cold

2a : without introduction or advance notice walked in cold to apply for a job

b : without preparation or warm-up was asked to perform the solo cold

Other Words from cold Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about cold

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from cold

Adjective

coldish \ ˈkōld-ish

\ adjective

coldly \ ˈkōl(d)-lē

\ adverb

coldness \ ˈkōl(d)-nəs

\ noun

Examples of cold in a Sentence

Adjective

The water was too cold for swimming. The weather has been unusually cold this spring. a country with a cold climate It was a long, cold winter. It's cold outside, but the wind makes it feel even colder. It's bitterly cold out there! metal that is cold to the touch Are you cold? I could turn up the temperature if you'd like. a bowl of cold cereal He ate cold pizza for breakfast.

Noun

I mind cold more than heat. They died of exposure to cold. The cold really sets in around late November and doesn't let up until April. I stood there shivering in the cold. He waited outside for her in the bitter cold. Come in out of the cold. It's not the flu, it's just a cold.

Adverb

She was asked to perform the song cold.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

There’s something cold and controlled about Annie’s miniatures. — Katherine Fusco, The Atlantic, "Hereditary and the Monstrousness of Creative Moms," 11 July 2018 In mere weeks, over 2,000 children were taken from their parents and held, alone, sometimes behind chain-link fences, under the cold care of the federal government. — Karl Vick, Time, "A Reckoning After Trump's Border Separation Policy: What Kind of Country Are We?," 21 June 2018 The ocean temperature just off the coast only varies 11 degrees between the coldest and warmest over the course of the year. — Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "There's no such thing as 'average' Kentucky weather. And trees hate that," 13 July 2018 Then something strange happened — the Northern Hemisphere suddenly became much colder, and stayed that way for more than a thousand years. — Christopher Mooney, BostonGlobe.com, "Scientists may have solved a huge riddle that led to more than 1,000 years of cold on Earth. It doesn’t bode well," 12 July 2018 Given the possibility of cold and wet weather in the Northeast in early spring, Hartford Athletic won’t be playing a home game until early April. — Shawn Mcfarland, courant.com, "Pro Soccer Team Announced For Hartford, Set To Begin Play In 2019 At Dillon Stadium," 11 July 2018 During the long span of occupations at Shangchen, which is about the same latitude as Kabul, the climate fluctuated from warm and wet to cold and dry. — Ann Gibbons, Science | AAAS, "Our ancestors may have left Africa hundreds of thousands of years earlier than thought," 11 July 2018 However, the trail went cold and little was said about Raboit for a few weeks. — SI.com, "Tottenham Fans Excited Over Reported Links to Paris Saint Germain Midfielder," 3 July 2018 Half the season is spent in the coldest and wettest weather. — Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star, "What would you change if you were IHSAA commissioner for a day?," 30 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Below, on a hillside of granite and greenstone, was the wreckage of a B-24D bomber that went down Dec. 21, 1943 during a flight to test the plane’s systems in extreme cold. — Brian Murphy, Washington Post, "How one man’s obsession led to the discovery of a lost WWII pilot," 30 June 2018 At that point, the only thing left is to supportively care for the cold. — Katie Heaney, The Cut, "I Want to Believe That Emergen-C Will Make Me Immortal," 22 June 2018 Everyone in Seattle knew someone who had gotten divorced, or gained forty pounds in a year, or had a breakdown or a cold that turned into hospital-grade pneumonia, or just turned hollow and brittle and paranoid. — Longreads, "Trying to Kill the Want," 20 June 2018 Serve at room temperature or chill in refrigerator and serve cold. — Alysha Witwicki, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "What to bring? These side dishes are always welcome at a summer picnic," 29 June 2018 But the fantasy series’ two heroes, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington, were left out in the cold. — Eliana Dockterman, Time, "The Biggest Snubs and Surprises of the 2018 Emmy Nominations," 12 July 2018 The former is comforting and cultural, the latter cold and commercial. — Michelle Z. Donahue, WIRED, "The Swedish Designer Creating Edible Robots," 18 May 2018 The cold never bothered you anyway, but watching from the comfort of your home will be extra sweet. — Samantha Brodsky, Good Housekeeping, "Disney Is Live-Streaming the Cinderella Castle Christmas Lighting Tonight," 9 Nov. 2017 As pharmacy chains await Amazon.com Inc.’s entry into the prescription-drug market, the online retail giant is already undercutting them for nonprescription medicine for aches, colds and allergies. — Bloomberg, latimes.com, "Amazon is already undercutting prices on over-the-counter pills," 6 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Consulting the Yellow Pages, he cold-called the store, and got the job because Holloway’s mother got a good feeling about him on the phone. — Gavin Edwards, charlotteobserver, "Pianos, mules, guitar strings: A 106-year-old family business is bidding it all goodbye," 8 June 2018 This wasn’t a promotional gimmick as much as an indication of the cheapness of Finley and persistence of Baer, who cold-called the owner to get the job. — Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Hot Pants Day’ and four other Oakland A’s gimmicks from the 1970s," 26 Mar. 2018 But the Falcons went ice cold early in the second half, and Milwaukee Lutheran went on a 13-4 run that gave the Red Knights a 60-54 lead with 12 minutes to play. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brown Deer shores up piece of sixth conference title in high-scoring win over Milwaukee Lutheran," 16 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cold.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for cold

Adjective

Middle English, going back to Old English cald (Anglian), ceald (West Saxon), going back to Germanic *kalða- (whence Old Saxon cald "cold," Middle Dutch cout, Old High German kalt, Old Norse kaldr, Gothic kalds), verbal adjective from *kalan- "to be cold" (whence Old English calan "to be cold, to make cold," Old Norse kala "to freeze") going back to a dialectal Indo-European base *ǵel-, *ǵol-, whence also Latin gelū, gelus "frost, cold," gelāre "to freeze, chill"

Noun

Middle English, going back to Old English ceald, cald, noun derivative of ceald, cald cold entry 1 (or derivative from the Germanic base of these adjectives)

Adverb

derivative of cold entry 1

Keep scrolling for more