cold

/kəʊld/

//kəʊld// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cold" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cold” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,013. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,013
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a low temperature.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cold · cold · English

cold · rank #1,013 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,013
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH charge

Nearest frequency peer: charge (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cold”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cold” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cold vs cop
50% similar
cold vs con
50% similar
cold vs cow
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cold
PropertyValue
Headwordcold
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kəʊld/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,013
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cold”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).coldlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “charge” (#1,012), “create” (#1,014), “century” (#1,011). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cold” is #1,013. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cold (IPA /kəʊld/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,013 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 22 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cold, with forms such as "ccold", "clod", and "codl". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cop", "con", "cow", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cold, from Anglian Old English cald. The West Saxon form, ċeald (“cold”), survived as early Middle English cheald, cheld, or chald. Both descended from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz, a participle form of *kalaną … The correct English form is cold, spelled C-O-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a low temperature.
  2. 2
    Causing the air to be cold.
  3. 3
    Feeling the sensation of coldness, especially to the point of discomfort.
  4. 4
    Unfriendly; emotionally distant or unfeeling.
  5. 5
    Chilled, filled with an uncomfortable sense of fear, dread, or alarm.
  6. 6
    Dispassionate; not prejudiced or partisan; impartial.
  7. 7
    Completely unprepared; without introduction.
  8. 8
    Unconscious or deeply asleep; deprived of the metaphorical heat associated with life or consciousness.
  9. 9
    Perfectly, exactly, completely; by heart; down pat.
  10. 10
    Cornered; done for.
  11. 11
    Cool, impressive.
  12. 12
    Not pungent or acrid.
  13. 13
    Unexciting; dull; uninteresting.
  14. 14
    Affecting the sense of smell (as of hunting dogs) only feebly; having lost its odour.
  15. 15
    Not sensitive; not acute.
  16. 16
    Distant; said, in the game of hunting for some object, of a seeker remote from the thing concealed. Compare warm and hot.
  17. 17
    Having a bluish effect; not warm in colour.
  18. 18
    Rarely used or accessed, and thus able to be relegated to slower storage.
  19. 19
    Without compassion; heartless; ruthless.
  20. 20
    Not radioactive.
  21. 21
    Not loaded with a round of live ammunition.
  22. 22
    Without electrical power being supplied.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cold appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A cold wind whistled through the trees.
  2. As cold waters to a thirstie soule: so is good newes from a farre countrey.

Etymology

From Middle English cold, from Anglian Old English cald. The West Saxon form, ċeald (“cold”), survived as early Middle English cheald, cheld, or chald. Both descended from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz, a participle form of *kalaną (“to be cold”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”). Cognates Cognate with Scots cald, cauld (“cold”), Saterland Frisian koold (“cold”), West Frisian kâld (“cold”), Dutch koud (“cold”), Low German kold, koolt, koold (“cold”), German kalt (“cold”), Danish kold (“cold”), Norwegian kald (“cold”), Swedish kall (“cold”).

Synonyms

algidArcticBalticborealbrass monkeysbrumalchillchilledchillyclay-coldcoldcold as a mackerelcold as charityfreezingfrostyfrorefrozengelidglacialhiemalicyinclementneshnippyparkypolarsleetysnowytaterswintry

Antonyms

hotwarm

This word in other languages

frío(Español)froid(Français)kalt(Deutsch)frio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccold
  • clod
  • codl
  • coldd
  • colld
  • ocld

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cold - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccold1clod2codl2coldd1colld1ocld2
Edit distance from "cold"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cold"?
"cold" is spelled C-O-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /kəʊld/.
What does "cold" mean?
As an adjective, "cold" means: Having a low temperature.
What words are commonly confused with "cold"?
"cold" is commonly confused with "cop", "con", "cow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cold"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cold" is /kəʊld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cold"?
From Middle English cold, from Anglian Old English cald. The West Saxon form, ċeald (“cold”), survived as early Middle English cheald, cheld, or chald. Both descended from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz, a participle form o... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cold", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rock#1,002Paul#997pain#996fans#989

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

funny6 variantsshall6 variantspeace6 variantsahead6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list