(~er, ~est, ~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
Something that is ~ has a very low temperature or a lower temperature than is normal or acceptable.
Rinse the vegetables under ~ running water...
He likes his tea neither too hot nor too ~...
Your dinner’s getting ~.
? hot, warm
ADJ
~ness
She complained about the ~ness of his hands.
? warmth
N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp
2.
If it is ~, or if a place is ~, the temperature of the air is very low.
It was bitterly ~...
The house is ~ because I can’t afford to turn the heat on...
This is the ~est winter I can remember.
? hot, warm
ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ
~ness
Within quarter of an hour the ~ness of the night had gone.
N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp
3.
Cold weather or low temperatures can be referred to as the ~.
He must have come inside to get out of the ~...
His feet were blue with ~.
? heat
N-UNCOUNT: also the N
4.
If you are ~, your body is at an unpleasantly low temperature.
I was freezing ~...
I’m hungry, I’m ~ and I’ve nowhere to sleep.
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ
5.
Cold food, such as salad or meat that has been cooked and cooled, is not intended to be eaten hot.
A wide variety of hot and ~ snacks will be available.
...~ meats.
? hot
ADJ: usu ADJ n
6.
Cold colours or ~ light give an impression of ~ness.
Generally, warm colours advance in painting and ~ colours recede.
...the ~ blue light from a streetlamp.
? warm
ADJ
7.
A ~ person does not show much emotion, especially affection, and therefore seems unfriendly and unsympathetic. If someone’s voice is ~, they speak in an unfriendly unsympathetic way.
What a ~, unfeeling woman she was...
‘Send her away,’ Eve said in a ~, hard voice.
? warm
ADJ disapproval
~ly
‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ Hugh said ~ly.
ADV
~ness
His ~ness angered her.
N-UNCOUNT
8.
A ~ trail or scent is one which is old and therefore difficult to follow.
He could follow a ~ trail over hard ground and even over stones.
? fresh
ADJ
9.
If you have a ~, you have a mild, very common illness which makes you sneeze a lot and gives you a sore throat or a cough.
N-COUNT
10.
see also common ~
11.
If you catch ~, or catch a ~, you become ill with a ~.
Let’s dry our hair so we don’t catch ~.
PHRASE: V inflects
12.
If something leaves you ~, it fails to excite or interest you.
Lawrence is one of those writers who either excite you enormously or leave you ~.
PHRASE: V inflects
13.
If someone is out ~, they are unconscious or sleeping very heavily.
She was out ~ but still breathing.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
14.
in ~ blood: see blood
to get ~ feet: see foot
to blow hot and ~: see hot
to pour ~ water on something : see water