cold
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /qʰowd/
ipa: /kəʊld/
ipa: [kʰɔʊ(ɫ)d]
ipa: [kʰɒʊ(ɫ)d]
note: younger
ipa: /kɒld/
note: younger
ipa: [kʰɔɫd]
enpr: kold
ipa: /koʊld/
ipa: /kaʉld/
ipa: [kʰɒʊ(ɫ)d]
homophone: coaled
rhymes: -əʊld
Forms: form: colder
form: coldest
Etymology: From Middle English cold, from Anglian Old English cald. The West Saxon form, ċeald (“cold”), survived as early Middle English cheald, cheld, or chald. Both descended from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz, a participle form of *kalaną (“to be cold”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots cald, cauld (“cold”), Saterland Frisian koold (“cold”), West Frisian kâld (“cold”), Dutch koud (“cold”), Low German kold, koolt, koold (“cold”), German kalt (“cold”), Danish kold (“cold”), Norwegian kald (“cold”), Swedish kall (“cold”).
Senses: examples: text: A cold wind whistled through the trees.
text: As cold waters to a thirstie soule: so is good newes from a farre countrey.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 25:25:
text: Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion!
ref: 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Four. The Last of the Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 137:
text: I had always supposed that playboys didn't give a hoot for anything except blondes and cold bottles.
ref: 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter V, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
synonyms: chilled
chilly
freezing
frigid
glacial
icy
cool
antonyms: word: baking
word: boiling
word: heated
word: hot
word: scorching
word: searing
word: torrid
word: warm
word: chilled
word: chilly
word: cold
word: cold as ice
word: freezing
word: freezing cold
word: frigid
word: glacial
word: ice-cold
word: icy
word: cool
glosses: Having a low temperature.
raw_tags: of a thing
examples: text: The forecast is that it will be very cold today.
text: As fruits of hotter countries, transearthed in colder climates, have vigour enough in themselves to be fructuous according to their nature: but, that they are hindered by the chilling nips of the air, and the soil, wherein they are planted.
ref: 1904, Owen Felltham, William Henry Oliphant Smeaton, Resolves:
text: Antarctica is the coldest, iciest place on Earth, which makes the recent warming event particularly worrying for many scientists. […] Larter said this happens less frequently in the East Antarctic because the ocean water there is much colder.
ref: 2022 March 25, Rachel Ramirez and Hafsa Khalil, “Antarctic ice shelf nearly the size of Los Angeles collapsed as temperatures soared to 40 above normal”, in CNN:
text: The current high temperature expected for Kansas City on Saturday is around 5 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, which would be the coldest high temperature on record in the area for the date, according to CNN Weather. […] But could it become cold enough for officials to cancel the showdown between the Chiefs and Dolphins?
ref: 2024 January 13, Ashley R. Williams, “NFL moves Pittsburgh at Buffalo playoff game to Monday due to winter storm, Miami at Kansas City is still on for tonight”, in CNN:
synonyms: word: brass monkeys
word: nippy
word: parky
word: taters
antonyms: word: hot
word: chilled
word: chilly
word: cold
word: cold as ice
word: freezing
word: freezing cold
word: frigid
word: glacial
word: ice-cold
word: icy
glosses: Causing the air to be cold.
raw_tags: of the weather
examples: text: She was so cold she was shivering.
antonyms: word: hot
word: chilled
word: chilly
word: cold
word: cold as ice
word: freezing
word: freezing cold
word: frigid
word: glacial
word: ice-cold
word: icy
glosses: Feeling the sensation of coldness, especially to the point of discomfort.
raw_tags: of a person or animal
examples: text: She shot me a cold glance before turning her back.
text: At the end of a week, she could bear the suspense no longer, and so went humbly to her old home and sought forgiveness. She was not repulsed, but her reception was cold; and this hurt her almost as badly.
ref: 1850, T. S. Arthur, “Happy on a Little”, in Sketches of Life and Character, Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 89:
text: "Suppose someone pops in?" "Don't be silly. Mrs Cream is working on her book. Phyllis is in her room, typing Upjohn's speech. Wilbert's gone for a walk. Upjohn isn't here. The only character who could pop in would be the Brinkley Court ghost. If it does, give it a cold look and walk through it. That'll teach it not to come butting in where it isn't wanted, ha ha."
ref: 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter VII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
synonyms: word: aloof
word: distant
word: hostile
word: standoffish
word: unfriendly
word: unwelcoming
word: aloof
word: cool
word: distant
word: frosty
word: hankty
word: hard-to-get
word: offish
word: quiet
word: remote
word: reserved
word: standoffish
word: strange
word: thorny
word: touch-me-not-ish
word: unapproachable
word: unbending
word: undemonstrative
word: unimpressionable
word: uninvolved
antonyms: amiable
friendly
welcoming
glosses: Unfriendly; emotionally distant or unfeeling.
examples: text: Yet oft when sundown skirts the moor
⁠An inner trouble I behold,
⁠A spectral doubt which makes me cold,
That I shall be thy mate no more, […]
ref: 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XL”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 63:
synonyms: apprehensive
glosses: Chilled, filled with an uncomfortable sense of fear, dread, or alarm.
examples: text: Let's look at this tomorrow with a cold head.
text: He's a nice guy, but the cold facts say we should fire him.
text: The cold truth is that states rarely undertake military action unless their national interests are at stake.
synonyms: word: disinterested
word: indifferent
word: candid
word: cold
word: clinical
word: detached
word: egal
word: equal
word: equitable
word: evenhanded
word: fairhanded
word: fair-minded
word: disinterested
word: dispassionate
word: impartial
word: imprejudicate
word: indifferent
word: indistinguishing
word: neuter
word: neutral
word: nonaligned
word: nonpartial
word: nonpartisan
word: nonpersonal
word: objective
word: unbiased
word: unbigoted
word: uninterested
word: unpartial
word: unpartisan
word: unprejudiced
word: unprepossessed
glosses: Dispassionate; not prejudiced or partisan; impartial.
examples: text: He was assigned cold calls for the first three months.
text: The one thing considered the brass ring in selling insurance was making a sale on a cold canvass. Cold canvassing was the most dreaded exercise for most insurance salesmen.
ref: 2019, Kelly D. Harrison, Air Force Cop: An Autobiography, page 100:
synonyms: unprepared
unready
antonyms: prepared
primed
ready
glosses: Completely unprepared; without introduction.
examples: text: I knocked him out cold.
text: After one more beer he passed out cold.
text: Before Mr Big could utter another word, Dad’s false leg crashed down through the window… …and the wooden foot bashed Mr Big hard on the head. The crime boss collapsed to the floor, out cold.
ref: 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
glosses: Unconscious or deeply asleep; deprived of the metaphorical heat associated with life or consciousness.
examples: text: Practice your music scales until you know them cold.
text: Try both these maneuvers until you have them cold and can do them in the dark without thinking.
text: Rehearse your lines until you have them down cold.
text: Keep that list in front of you, or memorize it cold.
glosses: Perfectly, exactly, completely; by heart; down pat.
raw_tags: with "have" or "know" transitively
examples: text: With that receipt, we have them cold for fraud.
text: Criminal interrogation. Initially they will dream up explanations faster than you could ever do so, but when they become fatigued, often they will acknowledge that you have them cold.
text: "Either Upjohn agrees to drop that libel suit or he doesn't get these notes, as he calls them, and without them he won't be able to utter a word. He'll have to come across with the price of the papers. Won't he, Jeeves?"
"He would appear to have no alternative, miss."
"Unless he wants to get up on that platform and stand there opening and shutting his mouth like a goldfish. We've got him cold."
ref: 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XIX, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
glosses: Cornered; done for.
raw_tags: with "have" transitively
examples: text: There were more than a few unforgettable moments from Sunday's Game 7 showdown between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. Steph Curry came up with an epic performance on a record-setting evening, and he also produced one of the coldest photos of the NBA Playoffs thus far.
ref: 2023 May 1, Paolo Songco, “Warriors star Steph Curry's cold 'night night' pic vs. Kings goes completely viral”, in ClutchPoints, archived from the original on 30 May 2023:
text: Lowkey she so cold for that
ref: 2023 August 3, @67x4L, Twitter, archived from the original on 09 Nov 2023:
text: Indians see this fit and think it's the coldest thing ever
ref: 2023 August 6, @SUPERTHYROID, Twitter, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2023:
glosses: Cool, impressive.
examples: text: cold plants
ref: 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
synonyms: mild
neutral
glosses: Not pungent or acrid.
examples: text: What a deal of cold business doth a man misspend the better part of life in!
ref: 1641, Ben Jonson, Discoveries Made upon Men and Matter:
text: The jest grows cold[…]when it comes on in a second scene.
ref: 1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
synonyms: word: colourless
word: lifeless
word: banal
word: beat
word: blah
word: bland
word: boring
word: cold
word: colourless
word: drab
word: dreich
word: drowsy
word: dull
word: dull as dishwater
word: flat
word: ho-hum
word: humdrum
word: insipid
word: lackluster
word: lame
word: languid
word: lifeless
word: longsome
word: monotonous
word: mundane
word: no fun at parties
word: plain
word: plodding
word: prosaic
word: prosy
word: pedantic
word: pedestrian
word: static
word: straightforward
word: snoozeworthy
word: soporific
word: tedious
word: uncool
word: wan
word: weaksauce
word: wooden
word: uninteresting
word: stodgy
word: vapid
word: vanilla
glosses: Unexciting; dull; uninteresting.
examples: text: a cold scent
glosses: Affecting the sense of smell (as of hunting dogs) only feebly; having lost its odour.
examples: text: Smell this business with a sense as cold / As is a dead man's nose.
ref: c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
glosses: Not sensitive; not acute.
examples: text: You're cold … getting warmer … hot! You've found it!
glosses: Distant; said, in the game of hunting for some object, of a seeker remote from the thing concealed. Compare warm and hot.
synonyms: word: bluey
word: bluish
word: caesious
word: cerulescent
qualifier: painting
glosses: Having a bluish effect; not warm in colour.
topics: computing
databases
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: Rarely used or accessed, and thus able to be relegated to slower storage.
examples: text: I can't believe she said that...that was cold!
text: River Song: (upon seeing the still-living Doctor, moments after he made her and two other friends watch what they thought was his death) This is cold. Even by your standards, this is cold.
ref: 2011 April 23, The Impossible Astronaut (Doctor Who), season series 6, episode 1:
text: "At the risk of sounding cold though, I'm glad he's gone. His abandonment left me in Aunt Fara's custody, and that's honestly the best thing he's ever done for me."
ref: 2015, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain, volume 3, page 237:
synonyms: word: cold-eyed
word: frosty
word: icy
word: uncompassionate
word: callous
word: cold
word: cold-eyed
word: dour
word: flint-hearted
word: forbidding
word: frosty
word: grim
word: hard
word: hard-boiled
word: hardened
word: hardhearted
word: heartless
word: harsh
word: humorless
word: icy
word: iron-hearted
word: insensitive
word: rigorous
word: rockhearted
word: severe
word: stern
word: stonehearted
word: stony
word: stonyhearted
word: strict
word: tough
word: unsympathetic
word: unmoved
glosses: Without compassion; heartless; ruthless.
examples: text: "That's right," Jackson said. "The Old Man will be pleased to welcome you." There was eagerness in his reedy voice. "What do you say? We'll take care of you. Feed you, bring you cold plants and animals. For a week maybe?"
ref: 1953, Philip K. Dick, “Planet for Transients”, in Fantastic Universe magazine, number Oct-Nov 1953, page 64:
antonyms: hot
radioactive
glosses: Not radioactive.
topics: engineering
firearms
government
military
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
politics
tools
war
weaponry
glosses: Not loaded with a round of live ammunition.
examples: text: Therefore, to avoid unnecessary delay in the trouble-shooting procedure, it is good practice to make a resistance check on a "cold" circuit (before applying power), to determine whether resistance values are normal.
ref: 1956, Philco Corporation, Handbook of Test Methods and Practices, page 3–3:
synonyms: dead
glosses: Without electrical power being supplied.
Synonyms: word: algid
word: Arctic
word: Baltic
word: benumbed
word: bitter
word: bleak
word: bone-chilling
word: boreal
word: brass monkeys
word: brisk
word: brumal
word: chill
word: chilled
word: chilly
word: clay-cold
word: cold
word: cold as a mackerel
word: cold as a well-digger's arse
word: cold as a witch's kiss
word: cold as a witch's teat
word: cold as a witch's tit
word: cold as charity
word: cold as ice
word: cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
word: cool
word: crisp
word: drafty
word: freezing
word: frigid
word: frosty
word: frore
word: frozen
word: gelid
word: glacial
word: hiemal
word: icy
word: inclement
word: nesh
word: nippy
word: parky
word: polar
word: shivering
word: sleety
word: snowy
word: taters
word: wintry
Derived terms: word: acold
word: a cold day in July
word: anticold
word: blow hot and cold
english: cold steel and bright lights
translation: cold steel and bright lights
word: bright lights and cold steel
word: bring someone out in a cold sweat
word: bust ass cold
word: clap cold
word: clay-cold
word: cold abscess
word: cold agglutinin disease
word: cold antibody
word: cold approach
word: cold-aridiphilous
word: cold as a mackerel
word: cold as a wagon tire
word: cold as a well-digger's arse
word: cold as a witch's kiss
english: cold as a witch's teat, cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra
translation: cold as a witch's teat, cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra
word: cold as a witch's tit
word: cold as balls
word: cold as charity
word: cold as death
word: Cold Ash
word: Cold Ashton
word: cold as ice
word: cold as the grave
english: cold avoidant
translation: cold avoidant
word: cold-avoidant
english: cold back
translation: cold back
word: cold-back
word: coldbeer
word: cold blob
word: cold blood
word: cold-blooded
word: cold boot
word: cold boot attack
word: cold-brew coffee
english: cold brew
translation: cold brew
word: cold brew coffee
word: cold call
word: cold camera
word: cold cap
word: cold capping
word: cold case
word: cold cash
english: cold-cathode
translation: cold-cathode
word: cold cathode
word: cold chain
word: cold chills
word: cold chips
word: cold chisel
word: Cold Christmas
word: coldcock
english: cold-cock
translation: cold-cock
word: cold cock
word: cold coffee
word: cold collation
word: cold comfort
word: cold-conk
word: cold cook
word: cold cream
english: cold-cuts, cold cut
translation: cold-cuts, cold cut
word: cold cuts
word: cold dark matter
word: cold day in Hell
word: cold deck
word: cold dish
word: cold-drawn
word: cold drink money
word: cold drop
word: cold duck
word: cold-email
word: cold email
word: cold emailing
word: cold empathy
word: colden
word: cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
word: cold-eyed
word: cold feet
word: cold finger
word: cold fire
word: cold fish
word: cold flour
word: cold food powder
word: cold forming
word: cold frame
word: cold front
word: cold fusion
word: cold gruel
word: cold hand
word: cold hands, warm heart
word: cold hard cash
word: cold, hard ground
word: cold-hearted
word: coldhouse
word: coldie
word: cold in one's grave
word: coldish
word: Cold Kirby
word: Cold Lake
word: cold launch
word: cold light
word: coldlike
word: cold-livered
word: coldly
word: cold meat
word: cold meat box
word: cold meat cart
word: cold meat train
word: Cold Meece
word: cold moon
word: cold-natured
word: coldness
word: Cold Norton
word: cold one
word: cold open
word: cold pack
word: cold patch
word: cold pig
word: cold-pressed
word: cold prickly
word: coldproof
word: cold rain process
word: cold read
word: cold reading
word: cold roll
word: cold rubber
word: cold sell
word: cold shoe
english: cold-short
translation: cold-short
word: cold short
word: cold shoulder
word: cold-shoulder
word: cold shoulder sleeve
word: cold shower
english: cold-shut
translation: cold-shut
word: cold shut
english: cold sleep
translation: cold sleep
word: coldsleep
word: cold sleeper
word: cold-smoked salmon
word: cold smoking
word: cold snap
word: cold sober
word: coldsome
word: cold spell
word: cold spot
word: Coldspring
word: Cold Spring
word: cold start
english: cold iron
translation: cold iron
word: cold steel
word: cold storage
word: cold store
word: cold sweat
word: cold tail
word: cold tap
word: cold transfer
word: cold trap
word: coldtrap
word: cold treatment
word: cold trot
word: cold turkey
word: cold ulcer
word: cold wallet
word: cold war
word: coldward
english: cold warrior
translation: cold warrior
word: Cold Warrior
word: coldwater
english: cold-water flat, cold water flat
translation: cold-water flat, cold water flat
word: coldwater flat
word: cold wave
word: coldwave
word: cold weapon
word: cold weld
word: cold welding
word: cold without
word: cold work
word: coldwork
word: cold working
word: coldworking
word: Colombian cold
word: Coniston Cold
word: encolden
word: freezing cold
word: my cold, dead hands
word: get cold feet
word: give someone the cold shoulder
word: go down like a cup of cold sick
word: grow cold
word: have no fear of ice cold beer
word: hot and cold
word: icecold
english: ice cold
translation: ice cold
word: ice-cold
word: in cold blood
word: in the cold light of day
word: is your head cold
word: key-cold
word: leave someone cold
english: make the blood run cold, one's blood runs cold
translation: make the blood run cold, one's blood runs cold
word: make someone's blood run cold
word: noncold
word: one-cold
word: overcold
word: pole of cold
word: pour cold water over
word: revenge is a dish best served cold
word: run hot and cold
word: someone's blood runs cold
word: stone-cold fox
word: stone-cold sober
english: stone cold, stonecold
translation: stone cold, stonecold
word: stone-cold
word: supercold
english: pour cold water on
translation: pour cold water on
word: throw cold water on
word: ultracold
Related terms: word: cold snap
word: frigidization
word: Jack Frost
word: one-dog night
word: three-dog night
word: wind chill