cold
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- chilly, arctic, bleak, cool, freezing, frigid, frosty, frozen, icy, wintry
- unfriendly, aloof, distant, frigid, indifferent, reserved, standoffish
[noun]
Synonyms:
- coldness, chill, frigidity, frostiness, iciness

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Antonyms: warm, hot
Contrasted words: genial, mild, cordial, friendly, hearty, warm, empathic, sympathetic
Related Words: biting, bleak, chilling, cutting, nipping, polar, raw, sharp, frozen, iced, wintry, bracing, brisk, crisp, snappy, unenthusiastic, unresponsive, unsympathetic

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English Thesaurus: cold, cool, freezing (cold), shivery, chilly, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. cold¹ S1 W1 /kəʊld $ koʊld/ adjective (comparative colder, superlative coldest)
[Language: Old English; Origin: ceald, cald]

1. OBJECTS/SURFACES/LIQUIDS/ROOMS something that is cold has a low temperature Antonym : hot ⇒ coldness:
She splashed her face with cold water.
a blast of cold air
We slept on the cold ground.
The house felt cold and empty.
ice/stone/freezing cold (=very cold)
The radiator is stone cold; isn’t the heating working?
go/get cold (=become cold)
My tea’s gone cold.
Come and eat or your dinner will get cold!

2. WEATHER when there is cold weather, the temperature of the air is very low Antonym : hot ⇒ coldness:
It was so cold this morning I had to scrape the ice off my windshield.
The day was bitterly cold.
The hut sheltered her from the cold wind.
cold winter/evening/January etc
the coldest winter on record
cold out/outside
It was raining and freezing cold outside.
The weather gets colder around the middle of October.
turn/grow cold (=become cold or colder, especially suddenly)
The nights grew colder.

3. be/feel/look/get cold if you are cold, your body is at a low temperature:
Could you turn up the heater, I’m cold.
I feel so cold!
My feet are as cold as ice (=very cold).

4. FOOD cold food is cooked but not eaten hot:
a plate of cold meats
a cold buffet
Serve the potatoes cold.

5. LACKING FEELING unfriendly or lacking normal human feelings such as sympathy, pity, humour etc Antonym : warm ⇒ coldly, coldness:
Martin was really cold towards me at the party.
His voice was as cold as ice.
She gave him a cold stare.
a cold calculated murder

6. get/have cold feet informal to suddenly feel that you are not brave enough to do something you planned to do:
The plan failed after sponsors got cold feet.

7. give somebody the cold shoulder informal to deliberately ignore someone or be unfriendly to them, especially because they have upset or offended you

8. LIGHT/COLOUR a cold colour or light reminds you of things that are cold Antonym : warm ⇒ coldness:
the cold light of a fluorescent tube

9. in the cold light of day in the morning, when you can think clearly or see something clearly:
The house seemed less threatening in the cold light of day.

10. cold (hard) cash American English money in the form of paper money and coins rather than cheques or credit cards

11. leave somebody cold to not feel interested in or affected by something in any way:
Opera left him cold.

12. take/need a cold shower used humorously to say that someone is sexually excited and the cold water will stop them feeling that way

13. sb’s trail/scent is cold used to say that you cannot find someone because it has been too long since they passed or lived in a particular place:
I tracked the boy as far as the factory, but there his trail went cold.

14. IN GAMES [not before noun] used in children’s games, to say that someone is far away from the hidden object or answer they are trying to find:
You’re getting colder!

15. cold facts facts without anything added to make them more pleasant or interesting:
Statistics can be merely cold facts.

16. cold steel literary a weapon such as a knife or sword
⇒ in cold blood at blood¹(3), ⇒ cold fish at fish¹(8), ⇒ blow hot and cold at blow¹(21), ⇒ cold comfort at comfort¹(7), ⇒ pour cold water over/on at pour(6), ⇒ a cold sweat at sweat²(4)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. cold² noun

1. [countable] a common illness that makes it difficult to breathe through your nose and often makes your throat hurt:
I’ve got a bad cold.
Keep your feet dry so you don’t catch a cold. ⇒ common cold

2. [uncountable] (also the cold) a low temperature or cold weather:
I was shivering with cold.
Don’t go out in the cold without your coat!
you’ll catch your death of cold British English (=used to warn someone that they may become very ill if they do not keep themselves warm in cold weather)

3. come in from the cold to become accepted or recognized, especially by a powerful group of people

4. leave somebody out in the cold informal to not include someone in an activity:
He chose to favour us one at a time and the others were left out in the cold.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. cold³ adverb

1. American English suddenly and completely:
Paul stopped cold. ‘What was that noise?’

2. out cold informal unconscious:
He drank until he was out cold.
You were knocked out cold (=hit on the head so that you became unconscious).

3. without preparation:
I can’t just get up there and make a speech cold!

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

cold
adj.
I. not hot or warm
VERBS be, feel, look, seem | become, get, grow, turn As evening fell it got very cold. The room grew cold. In January it turned very cold.
make sb/sth The rain overnight had made the water cold.
keep sth Use ice to keep the drinks cold.
ADV. bitterly, extremely, freezing, ice-, icy, terribly, very It's bitterly cold outside. There was a freezing cold wind. an ice-cold beer
fairly, quite, rather

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cold
II. not cooked/having become cold after cooking
VERBS be | get, go Your dinner's getting cold. I'm afraid the coffee's gone cold.
eat sth, serve sth Bake in the oven for twenty minutes. Serve hot or cold.
ADV. stone This soup is stone cold!

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cold
noun
I. lack of heat; low temperature
ADJ. biting, bitter, extreme, freezing
VERB + COLD feel I don't feel the cold as badly as many people.
keep out The house has double glazing to keep out the cold.
be blue with, be numb with My hands were blue with cold.
PREP. against the ~ We were well wrapped up against the cold.
out in the ~ He stood out in the cold and waited. (figurative) When the coalition was formed the Liberals were left out in the cold (= were not invited to join it).

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cold
II. common illness
ADJ. bad, heavy, nasty She won her match despite suffering from a heavy cold.
slight | common When will they find a cure for the common cold?
chest, head
VERB + COLD have, nurse, suffer from Jim stayed at home because he was nursing a cold.
catch, go down with, take I must have caught a cold on the bus. If you stay out in the rain you'll catch cold! He took cold, developed pneumonia, and that was the end of him.
 ⇒ Special page at ILLNESS

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cold

cold weather
More cold weather is expected later this week.
a cold night/day
It was a cold night with a starlit sky.
a cold winter
A cold winter will increase oil consumption.
a cold wind
A cold wind was blowing from the north.
a cold spell (=a period of cold weather, especially a short one)
We’re currently going through a bit of a cold spell.
a cold snap (=a short period of very cold weather)
There had been a sudden cold snap just after Christmas.
freezing/icy cold
Take your gloves – it’s freezing cold out there.
bitterly cold (=very cold)
The winter of 1921 was bitterly cold.
unusually/exceptionally cold
a period of unusually cold weather
quite/pretty cold
It’s going to be quite cold today.
cold out/outside
It’s too cold out – I’m staying at home.
become cold (also get cold informal)
In my country, it never really gets cold.
turn/grow cold (=become cold, especially suddenly)
The birds fly south before the weather turns cold.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cold used especially when you feel uncomfortable:
I’m cold – can I borrow a sweater?
cool a little cold, especially in a way that feels comfortable:
The air-conditioning keeps everyone cool.
freezing (cold) spoken very cold and very uncomfortable:
You look absolutely freezing!
shivery cold and unable to stop shivering, especially because you are ill:
I felt shivery and had a headache.
chilly a little cold, but not very cold, in a way that feels rather uncomfortable:
a chilly autumn day
It’s a bit chilly.
bitterly cold very cold and very uncomfortable:
It can be bitterly cold in the mountains.
icy (cold) very cold, especially when the temperature is below zero:
The wind was icy cold.
crisp cold, dry, and clear, in a way that seems pleasant:
I love these crisp autumn mornings.
frosty in frosty weather, the ground is covered in a frozen white powder:
It was a bright frosty morning.
arctic extremely cold and unpleasant, with snow and ice:
He would not survive for long in the arctic conditions.
arctic weather
draughty British English, drafty American English /ˈdrɑːfti $ ˈdræfti/ with cold air blowing in from outside, in a way that feels uncomfortable:
Old houses can be very draughty.
chilled food and drinks that are chilled have been deliberately made cold:
a bottle of chilled champagne
frozen kept at a temperature which is below zero:
frozen peas
have (got) a cold
She’s staying at home today because she’s got a cold.
be getting a cold (=be starting to have a cold)
I think I might be getting a cold.
catch a cold (=start to have one)
I caught a cold and had to miss the match.
come down with a cold (also go down with a cold British English) informal (=catch one)
A lot of people go down with colds at this time of year.
be suffering from a cold formal (=have one)
He was suffering from a cold and not his usual energetic self.
suffer from colds formal (=have colds)
Some people suffer from more colds than others.
a bad cold
If you have a bad cold, just stay in bed.
a nasty cold (also a heavy cold British English) (=a bad one)
He sounded as if he had a heavy cold.
a streaming cold British English (=in which a lot of liquid comes from your nose)
You shouldn’t go to work if you’ve got a streaming cold.
a slight cold
It’s only a slight cold – I’ll be fine tomorrow.
a chest cold (=affecting your chest)
He’s coughing all the time with a bad chest cold.
a head cold (=affecting your nose and head)
A bad head cold can sometimes feel like flu.
the common cold formal
There are hundreds of viruses that cause the common cold.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cold used especially when you feel uncomfortable:
It gets very cold here in the winter.
cool a little cold, often in a way that feels comfortable:
It’s very hot in the day, but cooler at night.
a nice cool breeze
chilly a little cold, but not very cold, in a way that feels rather uncomfortable:
a chilly autumn day
It’s a bit chilly.
freezing (cold) spoken very cold and very uncomfortable:
It’s freezing outside.
bitterly cold very cold and very uncomfortable:
It can be bitterly cold in the mountains.
icy (cold) very cold, especially when the temperature is below zero:
The wind was icy cold.
crisp cold, dry, and clear, in a way that seems pleasant:
I love these crisp autumn mornings.
frosty in frosty weather, the ground is covered in a frozen white powder:
It was a bright frosty morning.
arctic extremely cold and unpleasant, with snow and ice:
He would not survive for long in the arctic conditions.
arctic weather

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cold used especially when you feel uncomfortable:
It’s cold in here.
cool a little cold, especially in a way that feels comfortable:
Let’s go inside where it’s cool.
freezing (cold) spoken very cold:
I had to sleep in a freezing cold room.
draughty British English, drafty American English /ˈdrɑːfti $ ˈdræfti/ with cold air blowing in from outside, in a way that feels uncomfortable:
Old houses can be very draughty.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cold:
The water’s too cold for swimming.
a cold stone floor
cool a little cold, especially in a way that seems pleasant:
a nice cool drink
cool white sheets
freezing (cold) very cold:
His friends pulled him from the freezing water.
chilled food and drinks that are chilled have been deliberately made cold:
a bottle of chilled champagne
frozen kept at a temperature which is below zero:
frozen peas

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

unfriendly/not friendly behaving towards someone in a way that shows you are not interested in them or are not ready to talk to them or help them:
The hotel staff were unfriendly and unhelpful.
an unfriendly tone of voice
They didn't seem very friendly to strangers.
She gave him an unfriendly glance.
hostile very unfriendly, and ready to argue or fight:
He was openly hostile towards me when I arrived.
A hostile crowd gathered oustide the US embassy.
cold behaving towards other people as if you do not like them or care about them:
He gave her a cold stare.
a cold voice
frosty unfriendly, especially because you are angry with someone:
When she spoke, her tone was frosty.
He got a frosty reception from his wife when he finally returned home (=she was not very friendly towards him).
aloof [not before noun] not wanting to talk to other people or spend time with them, especially because you think you are better than them:
Some politicians are criticized for being too aloof.
antagonistic unfriendly and always trying to start arguments with someone:
Why are Kate and John so antagonistic towards each other?
antisocial not interested in meeting other people or forming friendly relationships with them:
Sorry if I'm being antisocial, but I need to get my work done.
He was an antisocial loner with no friends.
unfriendly making you feel as though you are not wanted:
The report found that the Church can seem unfriendly to outsiders.
unwelcoming unfriendly - used especially about the physical characteristics or appearance of something:
The entrance to the factory is cold, bare, and unwelcoming.
The new fence is just one example of the city’s attempt to make public spaces unwelcoming to the homeless.
impersonal lacking the normal friendly relations between people who work or do business together:
I had no desire to work for a large impersonal organization.
They just handed over the keys and walked out – it was all so impersonal.
forbidding unfriendly, uncomfortable, and a little frightening, so that you do not want to go there:
The school was a rather forbidding building surrounded by a high steel fence.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cold
kəuld
See: blood runs cold , blow hot and cold , catch cold or take cold , in cold blood , out cold , out in the cold , pass out(2) , stone-cold , stop cold , throw cold water on

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲