cold feet

plural noun

Definition of cold feet

: apprehension or doubt strong enough to prevent a planned course of action

Examples of cold feet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Prince William got cold feet about his relationship with Kate in December 2006, royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholl wrote in Vanity Fair. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Why Kate Middleton and Prince William Broke Up Before They Got Married," 23 Sep. 2018 The council is protecting itself in case the NHL gets cold feet over a potential lockout in 2019 and delays awarding the franchise. — Geoff Baker, The Seattle Times, "Only groups standing between Seattle and NHL, new KeyArena are those that want them most," 16 Sep. 2018 If the Spurs stay patient and refuse to make a move with Leonard right away, maybe James gets cold feet about jumping to Los Angeles. — Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, "As ‘pressure’ builds in LA, Spurs see reason to be patient," 27 June 2018 But in Wednesday’s issue — spoilers ahead — after a tough heart-to-heart talk with her best friend, who is also the groom’s sister, the would-be bride gets cold feet. — George Gene Gustines, New York Times, "Two Say ‘I Do’ in X-Men Gold, but Not the Pair Fans Were Expecting," 19 June 2018 From the feeling of weightlessness on the Kingda Ka to getting cold feet on Fahrenheit, these rides are the definition of exhilarating. — Julia Fawal, Woman's Day, "10 Things You Never Knew About Roller Coasters," 24 July 2015 Carrie expanded her wedding guest list from 74 to 400, causing Big to get cold feet and ultimately leave her at the alter. — Colleen Kratofil, PEOPLE.com, "Sex and the City Turns 20: Look Back at Every Wedding Dress the Girls Wore," 5 June 2018 Trump’s letter, the aides said, was designed to pressure the North on the international stage for appearing to have cold feet. — Josh Lederman, Time, "Kim Jong Un's Right-Hand Man Meets Mike Pompeo in New York to Discuss the North Korea Summit," 31 May 2018 Trump's open letter to Kim last week canceling the summit, the aides said, was designed to pressure the North on the international stage for appearing to have cold feet. — Josh Lederman, chicagotribune.com, "Pompeo, ex-North Korean spy chief holding talks in New York today," 31 May 2018

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about cold feet

Dictionary Entries near cold feet

Statistics for cold feet

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for cold feet

The first known use of cold feet was in 1893

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for cold feet

cold feet

noun

English Language Learners Definition of cold feet

: a feeling of worry or doubt that is strong enough to stop you from doing something that you planned to do

Comments on cold feet

What made you want to look up cold feet? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

propitious

likely to have or produce good results

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ

Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ