stone-cold

1 of 2

adjective

ˈstōn-ˈkōld 

1

: completely cold

stone-cold soup

The weather was stone-cold and often gray, with a 20-mile-an-hour headwind scouring the backstretch.

—Lorna Lentini

—often used figuratively

a stone-cold killer

… his stone-cold calculation was that he could score more money more quickly with a bat and glove.

—Scott Burton

2

US, informal : absolute, utter

In the last decade, DNA tests have provided stone-cold proof that 69 people were sent to prison and death row in North America for crimes they did not commit.

—Jim Dwyer et al.

stone-cold

2 of 2

adverb

US, informal

: absolutely, utterly

stone-cold sober

Walter Anderson was a stone-cold handsome guy, a tall, powerfully built man with a thick head of wavy blond hair …

—Edgar Allen Beam

Examples of stone-cold in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Chris Manhertz, a 10-year veteran, said the meeting room was stone-cold silent for a speech that lasted 10 to 15 minutes. — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

The hard-rocking Appetite for Destruction was a stone-cold smash, albeit an initially slow-burning one. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 26 June 2026

Adverb

While that was driven by practice, time on the training pitch, cohesion and better relationships, the addition of stone-cold ability clearly helps, too. — Beren Cross, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

The big mic drop at the conclusion of the finale turns out that Paula is a stone-cold (if possibly accidental) killer after all, and that the shadowy Souter Group is going to make her pay for her sins. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1898, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stone-cold

• copyhold
• decontrolled
• hundredfold
• manifold
• marigold
• oversold
• petioled
• sevenfold
• stranglehold
• subthreshold
• thousandfold
• uncontrolled