cold feet
plural nounDefinition of cold feet
: apprehension or doubt strong enough to prevent a planned course of action
Examples of cold feet in a Sentence
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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 Trump's letter, the aides said, was designed to pressure the North on the international stage for appearing to have cold feet. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Highest-level official North Korean visit to US in 18 years offers hope for summit," 31 May 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, Washington Post, "Top North Korean official, Pompeo meet to discuss summit," 30 May 2018These 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.
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The first known use of cold feet was in 1893
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