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 figurativelyLorna Lentinia stone-cold killer
… his stone-cold calculation was that he could score more money more quickly with a bat and glove.—Scott Burton
Scott Burton
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
Edgar Allen BeamExamples of stone-cold in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
That means Engram probably enters camp this summer as the only stone-cold lock to make the roster.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 14 May 2025
Asked about the pending decision, Silva first pivoted to the stone-cold geopolitical realities.
—Justin Worland, Time, 9 May 2025
Things like: stupid, dummy, low-life dummy, sleazebag, sick, sad, stone-cold crazy.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2025
With veteran composure, freshman Sarah Strong out to lead UConn women to a 12th national title
Even after the UConn women secured a Final Four berth with a win over USC, freshman Sarah Strong never broke her stone-cold exterior.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2025
There was a lot left to explore in Booth’s past as a hero soldier and stone-cold killer — in the movie he is depicted as maybe or maybe not deliberately killing his irate wife with a spear gun on a boat.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2025
The Matrix is the stone-cold classic, and Dark City has its devotees (Roger Ebert notable among them), but for me, Francis Lawrence’s directorial debut about a psychic consultant has always been the best distillation of this aesthetic.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Their voices blend gloriously on this fresh yet stone-cold country rendering of the song, which highlights the enduring heritage of Latino country music.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2025
Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 22 Feb. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Meanwhile, DiVincenzo is a stone-cold killer from beyond the arc (39.7% from three this year) and a fierce competitor on the defensive end (75th percentile in DEF EPM).
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
That means Engram probably enters camp this summer as the only stone-cold lock to make the roster.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 14 May 2025
Asked about the pending decision, Silva first pivoted to the stone-cold geopolitical realities.
—Justin Worland, Time, 9 May 2025
Things like: stupid, dummy, low-life dummy, sleazebag, sick, sad, stone-cold crazy.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2025
With veteran composure, freshman Sarah Strong out to lead UConn women to a 12th national title
Even after the UConn women secured a Final Four berth with a win over USC, freshman Sarah Strong never broke her stone-cold exterior.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2025
There was a lot left to explore in Booth’s past as a hero soldier and stone-cold killer — in the movie he is depicted as maybe or maybe not deliberately killing his irate wife with a spear gun on a boat.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2025
The Matrix is the stone-cold classic, and Dark City has its devotees (Roger Ebert notable among them), but for me, Francis Lawrence’s directorial debut about a psychic consultant has always been the best distillation of this aesthetic.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Their voices blend gloriously on this fresh yet stone-cold country rendering of the song, which highlights the enduring heritage of Latino country music.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2025
Adverb
Now, 30 years after its initial release, the song is a stone-cold ’90s country classic and has been a mainstay in Jackson’s concerts for the past three decades.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 22 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Stone-cold.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stone-cold. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share