cool

1 of 4

adjective

1
: moderately cold : lacking in warmth
The plant grows best in cool climates.
2
a
: marked by steady dispassionate calmness and self-control
a cool and calculating businessperson
b
: lacking ardor or friendliness
a cool impersonal manner
c
of jazz : marked by restrained emotion and the frequent use of counterpoint
d
: free from tensions or violence
We used to fight, but we're cool now.
3
used as an intensive
a cool million dollars
4
: marked by deliberate effrontery or lack of due respect or discretion
a cool reply
5
: facilitating or suggesting relief from heat
a cool dress
6
a
of a color : producing an impression of being cool
specifically : of a hue in the range violet through blue to green
b
of a musical tone : relatively lacking in timbre or resonance (see resonance sense 2a)
7
informal
a
: very good : excellent
That was a really cool movie.
also : all right
Is getting together Friday night cool with you?
b
: fashionable, hip
… not happy with the new shoes … because they were not "cool."Celestine Sibley
coolish adjective
coolly adverb
or less commonly cooly
coolness noun

cool

2 of 4

verb

cooled; cooling; cools

intransitive verb

1
: to become cool : lose heat or warmth
placed the pie in the window to cool
sometimes used with off or down
2
: to lose ardor or passion
His anger cooled.

transitive verb

1
: to make cool : impart a feeling of coolness to
cooled the room with a fan
often used with off or down
A swim cooled us off a little.
2
a
: to moderate the heat, excitement, or force of : calm
cooled her growing anger
b
: to slow or lessen the growth or activity of
usually used with off or down
wants to cool off the economy without freezing itNewsweek

cool

3 of 4

noun

1
: a cool time, place, or situation
the cool of the evening
2
a
: absence of excitement or emotional involvement : detachment
… must surrender his fine cool and enter the closed crazy world of suicide …Wilfrid Sheed
b
: poise, composure
The player lost his cool and began yelling at the referee.
3

cool

4 of 4

adverb

: in a casual and nonchalant manner
play it cool
Phrases
cool it
: to calm down : go easy
The word went out to the young to cool it.W. M. Young
cool one's heels
: to wait or be kept waiting for a long time especially from or as if from disdain or discourtesy
Choose the Right Synonym for cool

cool, composed, collected, unruffled, imperturbable, nonchalant mean free from agitation or excitement.

cool may imply calmness, deliberateness, or dispassionateness.

kept a cool head

composed implies freedom from agitation as a result of self-discipline or a sedate disposition.

the composed pianist gave a flawless concert

collected implies a concentration of mind that eliminates distractions especially in moments of crisis.

the nurse stayed calm and collected

unruffled suggests apparent serenity and poise in the face of setbacks or in the midst of excitement.

harried but unruffled

imperturbable implies coolness or assurance even under severe provocation.

the speaker remained imperturbable despite the heckling

nonchalant stresses an easy coolness of manner or casualness that suggests indifference or unconcern.

a nonchalant driver

Examples of cool in a Sentence

Adjective The weather is cool today. The surface is cool to the touch. The plant grows best in cool climates. I'm feeling a little cool. We changed into some cooler clothes. She remained calm, cool, and collected. Verb The fan cools the engine. the cooling effect of the breeze Allow the cake to cool before slicing. the cooling of the ocean waters I took a break from the discussion to allow my anger to cool. His interest in her has cooled somewhat. Noun had a cool new hairstyle I envy you your cool. Adverb Here comes Mom. Act cool and she won't suspect a thing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Even the basics — diet, personal hygiene, and keeping warm, cool, or dry — take a ton of work. Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2024 What’s so cool is that there are so many different themes and points of conversation for people to draw their own conclusions or assumptions. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024 As had happened before with Game Neverending, there were some pretty cool spare parts underneath all the ethereal ambitions of Glitch—like the internal messaging system the team had built. John Gravois, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024 Short-sleeve styles are cool enough to wear on sunny spring days or paired with a light windbreaker. Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2024 The National Weather Service is expecting a cold front into the Northeast U.S. at the beginning of the week that could bring some snow and wind gusts of up to 30 mph across the region, and while cool and calm can extend the life of the blossoms, rain and wind can bring their end. Li Cohen, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2024 Ensure your bedroom encourages sleep: Keep the room cool, quiet, and dark. Sayaka Blickenderfer, Health, 16 Mar. 2024 Liquid Death had to be so cool, Cessario hoped, that walking around a club with a can of water would be just as appealing as walking around with a beer. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 But her video sparked a reply from makeup artist Erica Taylor, who understands the struggle of millennials who are constantly beaten down by the criticisms of the youths and who just want to be cool (but also want to not care). Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
Carrier’s unit sent air through coils filled with cold water, and cooled the air while removing moisture from the room. Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024 The decision arrives roughly a week after fresh inflation data showed inflation ticked up in February, the latest sign that progress toward cooling prices had struck a rough patch. Max Zahn, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2024 While that cools, transfer the corn kernels to a blender and blend them into a coarse puree, scraping down the side of the blender as needed; set aside. 4. Christina Morales, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024 Confidence: High Tomorrow night: Evening temperatures cool quickly through the 40s into the 30s. Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 Once cooked, use the beans immediately; or quickly cool them and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze for up to three months. Lynda Balslev, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024 Inflation cooled from its peak of almost 9% in June 2022 all the way to an annual rate of 3.4% in December 2023, closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 It: Riley's Percale Sheet Set is made from crisp 100% long-staple cotton percale that stays soft to the touch while cooling you down, akin to the quality of five-star hotel sheets (shipped straight from Portugal, no less). Anamaria Glavan, Allure, 16 Mar. 2024 High pressure will briefly move into the region on Saturday as temperatures begin to cool down. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 14 Mar. 2024
Noun
On Saturday afternoon, that was Birthday Girl, an unsigned Brooklyn alt-rock band that has the elements of downtown cool nailed. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2024 When Clark, who is white, had done it, it had been widely characterized as a sign of her stone-cold cool. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2024 Initially, Hollander was intimidated by Sevigny, because of her impressive résumé and her legacy as the poster child of a certain kind of cool. Brent Lang, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 But there’s a natural cool with Cillian—an ease and a nonchalance about him. Christian Allaire, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024 This iconic 18th-century palazzo, in an enviable location atop the Spanish Steps, offers 104 elegant rooms with a mix of classical Roman romance and contemporary cool. Jim Dobson, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 As Earth’s interior cools, plate tectonics may subside, switching off our world’s ability to balance atmospheric carbon. Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 The shoes that were so made fun of when they were first released over 20 years ago that no one cool wanted to wear them? Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 2 Feb. 2024 Despite being named in a federal gambling investigation, Dawson kept his cool and was named Super Bowl MVP. Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2024
Adverb
The morning will start off cool in the mid to high 60s in metro Atlanta. Caroline Silva, ajc, 9 Sep. 2023 The cooling blanket uses a cool-sensing fabric and cotton combination that can quickly absorb human body heat, keeping you cool and sweat-free in the process. Rachel Dube, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 June 2023 The Ford Bronco can scratch almost anyone's itch for a cool-looking SUV with mega off-road capability without sacrificing good paved-road behavior in the process. Car and Driver, 22 Feb. 2023 Some cool-looking shots. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 18 Jan. 2023 Asus Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) has unveiled its varied, eclectic, and very cool-looking lineup of new gaming laptops for 2021. Monica Chin, The Verge, 12 Jan. 2021 The Peloton Bike+ is a cool-looking machine with a matte black finish and red accents. Corey Gaskin, Ars Technica, 12 Feb. 2023 Today, the Sun had two relatively minor -- but quite cool-looking -- events. Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 24 Mar. 2012 But while the script (co-written by Eisener and John Davies) is weak, there is an endearingly scruffy vibe here, goosed by some cool-looking costumes and effects. Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cool.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English col, going back to Old English cōl, going back to West Germanic *kōlu- (whence also Middle Dutch coele "moderately cold" and, from a variant *kōlja-, Old High German kuoli), lengthened-grade derivative from the base of *kalan- "to be cold" — more at cold entry 1

Verb

Middle English colen, going back to Old English cōlian, verbal derivative from Germanic *kōl- cool entry 1 (whence also Old Saxon colon "to become cool," Old High German kuolēn)

Noun

Middle English cole, derivative of col cool entry 1

Adverb

derivative of cool entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1968, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cool was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near cool

Cite this Entry

“Cool.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cool. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cool

1 of 3 adjective
1
: somewhat cold : lacking in warmth
2
: not letting in or keeping in heat
cool clothes
3
: marked by steady calmness and self-control
4
: not friendly or interested
was cool toward strangers
5
: producing an impression of being cool
blue is a cool color
6
slang
a
: very good : excellent
coolish adjective
coolly
ˈkül-(l)ē
adverb
coolness noun

cool

2 of 3 verb
1
: to make or become cool
2
: to make or become less excited : calm
allow tempers to cool

cool

3 of 3 noun
: a cool time or place
the cool of the night

Legal Definition

cool

intransitive verb
: to lose passion : become calm
sometimes used with off or down
the time elapsing…is such that a reasonable man thus provoked would have cooledW. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, Jr.

More from Merriam-Webster on cool

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