cold wave
"cold-wave" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cold wave” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A short period of very cold weather.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cold-wave · cold wave · English
cold wave · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cold wave |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cold wave” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cold wave is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for cold wave, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is cold wave, spelled C-O-L-D- -W-A-V-E.
Definition
- 1A short period of very cold weather.
- 2A permanent wave in the hair set by special solutions without the aid of any heating machine.
- 3Alternative spelling of coldwave (“European post-punk music sub-genre”).
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how cold wave appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Not so much forgotten as little heard in the first place, cold wave – and its dancier, synth-powered cousin, minimal wave – finds its roots in early 80s France.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.