What does "cold" mean?
A condition of low temperature.
Cold
/kəʊld/ adj, adv, noun, slang
adj, adv, noun, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A condition of low temperature.
- Grammar: cold is listed as adj, adv, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: common cold, low temperature, abruptly, absolute zero.
- Useful contrasts: enthusiastic, familiar, hot.
- Usage evidence: Even now, many years after the Cold War, there is still much rancor between the Russians and the Germans, especially in areas once occupied by the Soviet Union.
How to use "cold"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cold" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cold" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cold" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cold" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cold" is acting as adj, adv, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "common cold" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cold", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A condition of low temperature. uncountable
"Come in, out of the cold."
- 2 Acronym of computer output to laser disc. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 3 the absence of heat wordnet
- 4 A harsh place; a place of abandonment. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"The former politician was left out in the cold after his friends deserted him."
- 5 the sensation produced by low temperatures wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A common, usually harmless, usually viral illness, usually with congestion of the nasal passages and sometimes fever. countable
"I caught a miserable cold and had to stay home for a week"
- 7 a mild viral infection involving the nose and respiratory passages (but not the lungs) wordnet
- 8 Rheum; sleepy dust. slang, uncountable
"Who the fuck is this, pagin' me at 5:46 in the morning? / crack of dawn and now I'm yawnin' / wipe the cold out my eye, see who's this pagin' me and why"
Adjective
- 1 Having a low temperature.
"A cold wind whistled through the trees."
- 2 Causing the air to be cold.
"The forecast is that it will be very cold today."
- 3 Feeling the sensation of coldness, especially to the point of discomfort.
"She was so cold she was shivering."
- 4 Unfriendly; emotionally distant or unfeeling.
"She shot me a cold glance before turning her back."
- 5 Chilled, filled with an uncomfortable sense of fear, dread, or alarm.
"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, […]"
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 Dispassionate; not prejudiced or partisan; impartial.
"Let's look at this tomorrow with a cold head."
- 7 Completely unprepared; without introduction.
"He was assigned cold calls for the first three months."
- 8 Unconscious or deeply asleep; deprived of the metaphorical heat associated with life or consciousness.
"I knocked him out cold."
- 9 Perfectly, exactly, completely; by heart; down pat. usually
"Practice your music scales until you know them cold."
- 10 Cornered; done for. usually
"With that receipt, we have them cold for fraud."
- 11 Cool, impressive. slang
"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."
- 12 Not pungent or acrid. obsolete
"cold plants"
- 13 Unexciting; dull; uninteresting. obsolete
"What a deal of cold business doth a man misspend the better part of life in!"
- 14 Affecting the sense of smell (as of hunting dogs) only feebly; having lost its odour.
"a cold scent"
- 15 Not sensitive; not acute. obsolete
"Smell this business with a sense as cold / As is a dead man's nose."
- 16 Distant; said, in the game of hunting for some object, of a seeker remote from the thing concealed. Compare warm and hot.
"You're cold … getting warmer … hot! You've found it!"
- 17 Having a bluish effect; not warm in colour.
- 18 Rarely used or accessed, and thus able to be relegated to slower storage.
- 19 Without compassion; heartless; ruthless. informal
"I can't believe she said that...that was cold!"
- 20 Not radioactive. informal
""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?""
- 21 Not loaded with a round of live ammunition.
- 22 Without electrical power being supplied.
"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."
Adjective
- 1 lacking the warmth of life wordnet
- 2 of a seeker; far from the object sought wordnet
- 3 unconscious from a blow or shock or intoxication wordnet
- 4 feeling or showing no enthusiasm wordnet
- 5 having lost freshness through passage of time wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration wordnet
- 7 extended meanings; especially of psychological coldness; without human warmth or emotion wordnet
- 8 without compunction or human feeling wordnet
- 9 sexually unresponsive wordnet
- 10 so intense as to be almost uncontrollable wordnet
- 11 lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new wordnet
- 12 marked by errorless familiarity wordnet
- 13 (color) giving no sensation of warmth wordnet
Adverb
- 1 At a low temperature.
"The steel was processed cold."
- 2 Without preparation.
"The speaker went in cold and floundered for a topic."
- 3 In a cold, frank, or realistically honest manner. dated, informal, slang
"Now Little Bo Peep cold lost her sheep / And Rip van Winkle fell the hell asleep"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Even now, many years after the Cold War, there is still much rancor between the Russians and the Germans, especially in areas once occupied by the Soviet Union."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cold"?
Common synonyms include: common cold, low temperature, abruptly, absolute zero, absolutely, acute bronchitis.
How do you use "cold" in a sentence?
Even now, many years after the Cold War, there is still much rancor between the Russians and the Germans, especially in areas once occupied by the Soviet Union.
How do you pronounce "cold"?
Pronounced /kəʊld/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English cold, colde, from Old English cald, ċeald (“cold, coldness”), from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldą (“coldness”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”). Cognates Compare Saterland Frisian Keelde (“cold”), West Frisian kjeld (“cold”), Dutch koude (“cold”), German Low German Kolle, Koll (“cold”), German Kälte (“cold”), Danish kulde (“cold”), Swedish köld (“cold”), Norwegian kulde (“cold”), Icelandic kuldi (“cold”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English colde, from Old English calde, ċealde (“coldly”), from the adjective (see above).