Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Having a low temperature; not warm: Refers to a low degree of heat or a sensation of low temperature.
   • Lacking affection or warmth of feeling; unemotional: Describes a person, manner, or response that is unfriendly, indifferent, or not enthusiastic.
   • Without preparation or rehearsal; perfect or certain: Used to describe knowledge or performance that is mastered completely.
   • (Of a color) Giving an impression of coolness: Typically refers to colors like blue, grey, or green.
   • (Of the scent in hunting) Faint; hard to follow: Describes a trail or scent that is old and weak.
   • Unconscious: Used informally to mean completely unconscious.

2. Noun:

   • Low temperature, especially in the atmosphere; cold weather; the sensation produced by low temperature: Refers to the state or condition of being cold.
   • A common viral infection in which the mucous membranes of the nose and throat become inflamed: The illness known as the common cold.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Please close the window; I'm cold. (Describing a physical sensation of low temperature.)
  • She gave him a cold stare and turned away. (Describing an unfriendly, unemotional manner.)
  • The actor had his lines cold before the first rehearsal. (Describing perfect, memorized knowledge.)
  • The room was painted in cold, bluish-grey tones. (Describing a cool color.)
  • The detective was following a cold trail. (Describing an old, faint clue.)
  • After the accident, he was out cold for several minutes. (Describing an unconscious state.)

• Noun:

  • He shivered from the intense cold. (Referring to low temperature.)
  • Don't go outside without a coat; you'll catch a cold. (Referring to the illness.)

Advanced Usage

• "in cold blood": Acting deliberately and without emotion, especially in a cruel act.
  • The murder was committed in cold blood.
• "to leave someone cold": To fail to interest or excite someone.
  • The scientific lecture left me cold.
• "to get/have cold feet": To suddenly become nervous or afraid to do something planned.
  • He got cold feet and canceled the wedding.

Variants and Related Words

• Coldly (adverb): In a cold, unfriendly, or unemotional manner.
  • She spoke coldly to the stranger.
• Coldness (noun): The state or quality of being cold, either in temperature or emotion.
  • The coldness of his reply was shocking.
• Cold-blooded (adjective): Having a body temperature that varies with the environment (zoology); or, without emotion or pity; cruel.
  • Reptiles are cold-blooded animals. / It was a cold-blooded crime.

Synonyms

• Adjective (temperature): Chilly, frigid, icy, frosty, cool.
• Adjective (emotion): Unfriendly, aloof, indifferent, unemotional, frigid.
• Noun (illness): Common cold, rhinovirus infection, head cold.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

• "to cold-call": To telephone someone you have never met to try to sell them something.
  • His job is to cold-call potential customers.
• "to cold-shoulder" (verb): To treat someone in an unfriendly way, ignoring them.
  • After the argument, she cold-shouldered him for a week.

Related Idioms

• "to pour/throw cold water on something": To criticize or discourage an idea or plan.
  • She threw cold water on our proposal to start a new project.
• "out in the cold": Excluded from a group or activity; ignored.
  • When the teams were chosen, I was left out in the cold.
• "as cold as ice": Extremely cold in temperature or demeanor.
  • Her hands were as cold as ice. / His expression was as cold as ice.

Adjective

1. lacking the warmth of life
   • cold in his grave
2. of a seeker; far from the object sought
3. unconscious from a blow or shock or intoxication
   • the boxer was out cold
   • pass out cold
4. feeling or showing no enthusiasm
   • a cold audience
   • a cold response to the new play
5. without compunction or human feeling
   • in cold blood
   • cold-blooded killing
   • insensate destruction
6. sexually unresponsive
   • was cold to his advances
   • a frigid woman
7. so intense as to be almost uncontrollable
   • cold fury gripped him
8. lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new
   • moth-eaten theories about race
   • stale news
9. marked by errorless familiarity
   • had her lines cold before rehearsals started
10. (color) giving no sensation of warmth
    • a cold bluish grey
11. having lost freshness through passage of time
    • a cold trail
    • dogs attempting to catch a cold scent
12. extended meanings; especially of psychological coldness; without human warmth or emotion
    • a cold unfriendly nod
    • a cold and unaffectionate person
    • a cold impersonal manner
    • cold logic
    • the concert left me cold
13. having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
    • a cold climate
    • a cold room
    • dinner has gotten cold
    • cold fingers
    • if you are cold, turn up the heat
    • a cold beer

Noun

1. the sensation produced by low temperatures
   • he shivered from the cold
   • the cold helped clear his head
2. the absence of heat
   • the coldness made our breath visible
   • come in out of the cold
   • cold is a vasoconstrictor
3. a mild viral infection involving the nose and respiratory passages (but not the lungs)
   • will they never find a cure for the common cold?