Word for the day: cold

cold |kəʊld|                                                                         *constipado (en Español)



DEFINITION
noun
1 [ mass noun ] a low temperature; cold weather; a cold environment: my teeth chattered with the cold | they nearly died of cold.2 a common infection in which the mucous membrane of the nose and throat becomes inflamed, typically causing running at the nose, sneezing, and a sore throat.

adjective1 of or at a low or relatively low temperature, especially when compared with the human body: a freezing cold day | it's cold outside | a sharp, cold wind.• (of a person) feeling uncomfortably cold:she was cold, and I put some more wood on the fire.• (of food or drink) served or consumed without being heated or after cooling: a cold drink | serve hot or cold.• feeling or characterized by fear or horror:a cold shiver of fear.• [ as complement ] informal unconscious: she was out cold .• dead: lying cold and stiff in a coffin.2 lacking affection or warmth of feeling; unemotional: how cold and calculating he was |her cold black eyes.• not affected by emotion; objective: cold statistics.• sexually unresponsive; frigid.• depressing or dispiriting; not suggestive of warmth: a cold light streamed through the window.• (of a colour) containing pale blue or grey.3 (of the scent or trail of a hunted person or animal) no longer fresh and easy to follow:the trail went cold.• [ predic. ] (in children's games) far from finding or guessing what is sought.4 [ as complement ] without preparation or rehearsal: they went into the test cold.• informal at one's mercy: they had him cold.
adverbN. Amer. informalcompletely; entirely: we stopped cold behind a turn in the staircase.
PHRASES
( as ) cold as ice (or stone or the graveetc.)very cold: her hand was as cold as ice.catch a cold (also catch cold )become infected with a cold. • encounter difficulties.cold comfort poor or inadequate consolation: another drop in the inflation rate was cold comfort for the 2.74 million jobless.cold feet loss of nerve or confidence: after arranging to meet I got cold feet and phoned her saying I was busy.the cold shoulder a show of intentional unfriendliness; rejection: the new England manager gave him the cold shoulder .cold-shoulder someone reject or be deliberately unfriendly to someone.cold steel weapons such as swords or knives collectively.in cold blood without feeling or mercy; ruthlessly: the government forces killed them in cold blood.in the cold light of day when one has had time to consider a situation objectively: in the cold light of day it all seemed so ridiculous.out in the cold ignored; neglected: the talksleft the French out in the cold .throw (or pour ) cold water on be discouraging or negative about.
DERIVATIVES
coldish adjective,coldness noun
ORIGIN Old English cald, of Germanicorigin; related to Dutch koud and Germankalt, also to Latin gelu ‘frost’.

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