1. 1. Having a low temperature.
   2. Having a temperature lower than normal body temperature.
   3. Feeling no warmth; uncomfortably chilled.
2. 1. Marked by deficient heat: a cold room.
   2. Being at a temperature that is less than what is required: cold oatmeal.
   3. Chilled by refrigeration or ice: cold beer.
3. Lacking emotion; objective: cold logic.
4. Having no appeal to the senses or feelings: a cold decor.
5. 1. Not affectionate or friendly; aloof: a cold person; a cold nod.
   2. Exhibiting or feeling no enthusiasm: a cold audience; a cold response to the new play; a concert that left me cold.
   3. Devoid of sexual desire; frigid.
6. Designating a tone or color, such as pale gray, that suggests little warmth.
7. Having lost all freshness or vividness through passage of time: dogs attempting to catch a cold scent.
8. 1. Marked by or sustaining a loss of body heat: cold hands and feet.
   2. Appearing to be dead; unconscious.
   3. Dead: was cold in his grave.
9. Marked by unqualified certainty or sure familiarity.
10. So intense as to be almost uncontrollable: cold fury.
11. Characterized by repeated failure, especially in a sport or competitive activity: The team fell into a slump of cold shooting.

1. To an unqualified degree; totally: was cold sober.
2. With complete finality: We turned him down cold.
3. Without advance preparation or introduction: took the exam cold and passed; walked in cold and got the new job.

1. 1. Relative lack of warmth.
   2. The sensation resulting from lack of warmth; chill.
2. A condition of low air temperature; cold weather: went out into the cold and got a chill.
3. A viral infection characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the upper respiratory passages and usually accompanied by malaise, fever, chills, coughing, and sneezing. Also called common cold, coryza.

out in the cold

1. Lacking benefits given to others; neglected.

[Middle English, from Old English ceald.]

SYNONYMS   cold, arctic, chilly, cool, frigid, frosty, gelid, glacial, icy. These adjectives mean marked by a low or an extremely low temperature: cold air; an arctic climate; a chilly day; cool water; a frigid room; a frosty morning; gelid seas; glacial winds; icy hands.
ANTONYM  hot

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.