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visitors. b) not influenced by feeling: a cold calculating
murderer | a cold evaluation of the facts | The prospect of
another party left her cold. (=she was not excited or pleased
about it) → see also COOL, FROSTY 3 (of food) cooked but
not eaten hot: cold meat | Shall I heat up the pies or shall we
eat them cold? 4 [F] (especially in children's games) still a
long way from finding a hidden object, the answer etc:
You're getting colder. → compare HOT, WARM 5 [F] infml
unconscious, especially as the result of a severe blow to the
head: I knocked him cold with one blow. | She's out cold. →
see also in cold blood (BLOOD), blow hot and cold (BLOW),
pour cold water over/on (POUR) —ly adv: 'Good morning,'
she said coldly. | coldly analytical —ness n [U]
Compare cold and cool, hot, and warm. Cold
suggests a lower temperature than cool, perhaps
uncomfortably low: cold weather. Cool often suggests a
pleasantly low temperature: a nice cool breeze | a lovely
cool room (said when you are hot). In the same way hot
suggests a higher temperature than warm or a
temperature which would not be comfortable for a long
period. Warm often suggests a pleasantly high
temperature: The handle is too hot to touch. | I've caught
a cold, so I'm going to take a quick hot bath and go to
bed. | I could lie in a warm bath for hours. | a lovely
warm room (said when you are cold).
cold² n 1 [(the) U] the absence of heat; low temperature or
cold weather: Don't go out in the cold without a coat! | The
machine is designed to work in extremes of heat or
cold. 2 [C;U] an illness, especially of the nose and/or throat,
which causes headaches, coughing, slight fever, and general
discomfort: I've got a bad cold. | He caught (a) cold in the
storm yesterday. 3 come in from the cold to become
accepted or recognized, especially by a powerful group of
people (from the title of a book by John Le Carré The Spy Who
Came in from the Cold) 4 feed a cold and starve a fever
saying a phrase stating an old belief that if you have a cold you
should eat a lot to get better, but if you have a FEVER (=your
body is hot because of illness) you should eat noth-
ing 5 (out) in the cold infml not considered or not taking
part: He was left out in the cold at school because he didn't like
sports. → see also COMMON COLD, catch one's death of cold
(DEATH)
cold³ adv completely; thoroughly: When he asked her to marry
him she turned him down cold. | He stopped cold when he
heard a noise behind him.
cold-'blooded adj 1 [no comp.] having a body temperature
that changes according to the temperature of the surround-
ings: Snakes are cold-blooded. → compare WARM-
BLOODED 2 showing complete lack of feeling; cruel: a cold-
blooded murderer 3 infml very sensitive to cold —ly adv
—ness n [U]
cold 'call¹ v [T] to telephone or visit someone you have
never met before and try to sell them something —cold
calling n [U]
cold 'call² n a telephone call made by a company to a
number found in the telephone book or on a list in order to
try to sell something to the person who answers
cold 'chisel n a CHISEL (=a strong narrow sharp-ended steel
tool) for cutting cold metal
cold 'comfort n [U] something that does not give comfort;
no CONSOLATION: It's cold comfort to know that your disease is
a common one when you are ill.
Cold Comfort 'Farm a humorous novel by Stella Gibbons
about a farm in southern England, where the owners and
workers are all crazy or very strange
cold cream n [U] a thick white sweet-smelling oily cream
for cleaning and smoothing the skin
cold cuts n [P] especially AmE thinly cut pieces of various types
of cold meat
cold 'feet n [P] infml loss of courage or confidence, especially
just before doing something that is planned (especially in the
phrases get/have cold feet): They got cold feet at the last
minute and refused to sign the contract.
,cold 'fish n an unfriendly person who deals with others in a
cold way
'cold frame n a small glass-covered frame for protecting
young plants
,cold 'front /II'. ./ n the advancing edge of a cold mass of air
,cold 'fusion n [U] NUCLEAR FUSION taking place at room
temperature using ordinary chemicals. It is widely believed
by scientists not to be possible, and has not been satisfac-
torily proved.
,cold-'hearted adj unkind; showing no sympathy: a cold-
hearted refusal to help → compare WARM-HEARTED —ly adv
—ness n [U]
Col-ditz /'kəuldits/ a castle in Germany in which prisoners-
of-war were kept during World War II. Colditz is thought of
as a place that is almost impossible to escape from. →
compare ALCATRAZ
Cold-play /'kəuldpleɪ/ a British rock group best-known for
producing songs that express strong personal emotions and
have a serious message. Their ALBUMS include Parachute and
A Rush Of Blood To The Head.
,cold 'shoulder n [(the) S] infml intentionally cold unsympa-
thetic treatment (especially in the phrases give/get the cold
shoulder): After he left his wife for a younger woman, his
friends all gave him the cold shoulder. —cold-shoulder v [T]
,cold 'shower n an act of washing the body by standing
under cold running water. People often say jokingly that a
man needs a cold shower if he is sexually excited, because it
is thought that a cold shower will calm him down.
'cold snap also 'cold spell AmE — n a sudden short period
of very cold weather
'cold sore n a sore on the lips or inside the mouth, that
often comes with a cold or fever → see also HERPES
,cold 'steel n [U] lit a fighting weapon such as a knife or
sword, rather than a gun
,cold 'storage n [U] 1 storage (e.g. of food) in a cold place
in order to keep things fresh or in good condition 2 the
condition of being put aside for future action: We'll put the
plan into cold storage until we can find some more money.
'cold store n a cold usually REFRIGERATED room for keeping
food, fur etc in
Cold-stream Guards, the /ˌkəuldstri:m 'ga:dz||
-'ga:rdz/ a famous REGIMENT (=a large group of soldiers) in
the British army, formed in about 1660
,cold 'sweat n [S] a state in which one SWEATS and feels cold
at the same time, because of fear or nervousness: to break
out in a cold sweat
,cold 'turkey n [U] slang 1 (the unpleasant sick feeling caused
by) the sudden stopping of the use of a drug by an ADDICT
(=someone who is dependent on a drug) 2 go cold turkey
to stop the use of a drug suddenly: When I gave up smoking I
went cold turkey.
,cold 'war n a state of severe political struggle between
countries with opposed political systems, who attack each
other in various political ways without actually fighting
Cold War, the the political struggle between the US and the
Soviet Union after World War II, which was most severe in
the 1950s but in the 1970s gave way to DÉTENTE. By late 1990
it was considered to be over.
Cole, Nat King /kəul, næt kɪŋ/ (1917-65) a US singer known
for his soft, smooth voice, and for his recordings of love
songs such as When I Fall in Love, Unforgettable, and Mona
Lisa
Cole, Old King → see OLD KING COLE
Cole-man, David /'kəulmən/ (1926-) a British sports COM-
MENTATOR (=someone who describes a sports event while it
is happening), who worked for the BBC for many years until
he RETIRED in 2000
Coleman, Or-nette /ɔ:'netləɔ:r-/ (1930-) an American JAZZ
musician and COMPOSER known for his SAXOPHONE playing