cold-water

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adjective

cold-wa·​ter ˈkōld-ˌwȯ-tər 

-ˌwä-

: having only running water without heat or utility services provided

a cold-water flat

cold water

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noun

: depreciation of something as being ill-advised, unwarranted, or worthless

threw cold water on our hopes

Examples of cold-water in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Festivals where heat is an issue are sometimes equipped with mobile cold-water immersion tanks to cool people down quickly, Friedman says. —ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026

Wessel was then transported across the creek by boat to begin treating the animal on site, including administering medication and addressing the immediate effects of prolonged cold-water exposure. —Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 7 Apr. 2026

Noun

Sue Chrysanthou, MacInnes’ barrister, told the court that Ghost suffered cold urticaria after the swim, a condition that effectively renders people allergic to cold water. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 20 Apr. 2026

The development throws cold water on last week's optimism that the Iran war could be near its end, which helped push stock indexes to all-time highs. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1942, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1808, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cold-water

• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater
• granddaughter
• groundwater
• headwater