Meaning of cool in English

cool

adjective

/kuːl/ us

/kuːl/

cool adjective (COLD)

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slightly cold:

cool water

cool weather

slightly cold in a pleasant way:

It was a lovely cool evening.

How do you manage to look so cool in this hot weather?

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having temperature lower than what is comfortable

coldBrr, it's cold outside!
bitterWrap up warmly - it's bitter outside!
freezingIt's absolutely freezing in here!
bitingA biting wind blew in her face as she opened the door.
icyAn icy wind whistled across the plain.

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used to describe a temperature that is slightly too cold:

it is cool It's a bit cool in here, isn't it? I think I'll close the window.

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When the biscuits are cool, you coat them in/with melted chocolate.
As she dived into the pool, the water felt deliciously cool on her skin.
Plants keep cool during the summer by evaporating water from their leaves.
It's cool and quiet everywhere except in the kitchen.
In cool climates you have to grow tropical plants under glass.

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Cool

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Cold

cool adjective (CALM)

calm and not worried or frightened; not influenced by strong feeling of any kind:

He was very cool when we broke the window, and didn't shout or get mad.

stay/keep cool If you have to deal with a difficult customer, try to stay/keep cool (= not become angry or excited).

be cool with something informal

to be happy to accept a situation or suggestion:

Yeah, we could leave later - I'm cool with that.

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Calm and relaxed

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cool adjective (GOOD)

A2 informal

fashionable in a way that people admire:

Angie's got some cool new sunglasses.

look cool I know it won't look very cool, but this hat will keep the sun out of your eyes.

She hangs out with all the cool kids at school.

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fashionable

fashionableShe's so fashionable.
in fashionTighter trousers for men are back in fashion.
inShort jackets are in this season.
coolHe was wearing a pair of cool sunglasses.
hipWe went to the hip new club in town.
trendyHe likes trendy clothes and modern furniture.

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informal

excellent; very good:

"So how was the concert?" "It was cool!"

Our new car is really cool.

You have such a cool bedroom.

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extremely pleasant, enjoyable, or likable

excellentThe food was excellent, thank you.
wonderfulHave a wonderful trip!
terrificThat's such terrific news, congratulations!
fabulousI love her dress, it's fabulous.
greatThe film was great.

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informal

acceptable:

Would it be cool if I borrowed the car tonight?

I didn't like the way he spoke to her. Not cool.

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Modern & fashionable

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Informal words for good

Suitable and acceptable

cool adjective (COLOUR)

Cool colours, such as blue or green, make you feel calm and relaxed:

The bedroom was painted a lovely cool blue.

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The qualities of colour

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cool adjective (UNFRIENDLY)

unfriendly or not showing kindness or interest in something or someone:

cool towards She was decidedly cool towards me.

cool reception/welcome I got a rather cool reception/welcome this evening. What do you think I've done wrong?

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not liking or being pleasant towards others

unfriendlyThe crowd was unfriendly and dangerous.
coolShe was very cool towards his new wife.
coldShe's a cold, heartless woman.
icyHe gave me an icy stare.
glacialHer reception of him was glacial.

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Not being friendly

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Lacking interest and enthusiasm

Idioms

(as) cool as a cucumber
cool customer
keep a cool head
too cool for school

cool

exclamation

informal

/kuːl/ us

/kuːl/

used for saying that you think something is good or acceptable, or that you have understood what you have been told:

"Jamie's invited us to stay for a few days." "Cool!"

"I'm going to leave now." "OK, cool."

"First you put the soap in, then you turn on the machine." "Cool."

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Informal words for good

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cool

noun

/kuːl/ us

/kuːl/

cool noun (COLD)

the cool [ S ]

the pleasant, slightly cold temperature of a place:

cool of He loved the cool of the early morning.

She left the afternoon sun for the cool of the shade.

The best time to water your plants is during the relative cool of morning.

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Cool

cool noun (CALM)

C1 [ U ] informal

a person's ability to stay calm and not become angry or excited:

keep your cool It was amazing how she kept her cool when everyone else was panicking.

lose your cool He really lost his cool when he heard about what happened.

Synonyms

calm 
calmness
composure
equanimity formal
phlegm (CALMNESS) formal
sangfroid formal

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Calm and relaxed

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cool

verb

/kuːl/ us

/kuːl/

cool verb (BECOME COLD)

B2 [ I or T ]

to become or cause something to become slightly colder:

Leave the cake to cool for an hour before cutting it.

He took off his shoes to cool his sweaty feet.

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to become or make something cold or colder

coolWait until the mixture cools before adding the eggs.
cool downLet the pan cool down a bit before you touch it.
chillChill the wine in the fridge.
freezeYou have to wait until the pond freezes before you can skate safely on it.

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Cool

cool verb (BECOME LESS)

[ I ]

(also cool off)

If a feeling cools or cools off, it starts to become less strong:

They were completely in love in the beginning, but I think it's starting to cool off now.

Their interest in the project seems to be cooling.

[ I ]

(also cool off)

If the economy, a business, etc. cools or cools off, it grows less fast than before:

The stock market has cooled off after hitting new highs last week.

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Becoming and making less strong

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Slow and moving slowly

Idioms

cool it

cool your jets

Phrasal verbs

cool (someone/something) down/off

cool (someone) down/off

(Definition of cool from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

cool | American Dictionary

cool

adjective

cool adjective (COLD)

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[ -er/-est only ] us

/kul/

slightly cold; of a low temperature:

a cool evening/breeze

Cereals should be stored in a cool, dry place.

cool adjective (UNFRIENDLY)

[ -er/-est only ] us

/kul/

unfriendly or not showing affection or interest in something or someone:

"Well, that’s just too bad," Bill replied in a cool tone.

cool adjective (CALM)

[ -er/-est only ] us

/kul/

calm and not anxious or frightened:

What’s needed now is calm, cool thinking.

He made a cool assessment of the situation.

cool adjective (GOOD)

[ -er/-est only ] infml us

/kul/

excellent; very good:

It’s way cool to see you again!

[ -er/-est only ] infml us

/kul/

Cool is also used to show agreement with or acceptance of what someone says:

"He wants to come with us." "Cool."

cool adjective (COLORS)

art us/kul/

(of colors) not very bright or dark, and esp. containing green, blue, or gray

Idiom

cool it

cool

noun [ U ]

/kul/

cool noun [U] (CALM)

infml

the ability to stay calm and not get upset or angry:

He’s gone swimming with sharks without losing his cool.

cool

verb [ I/T ]

/kul/

cool verb [I/T] (COLD)

to lose heat or cause someone or something to lose heat:

[ I ] Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes.

[ I/T ] He jumped into the pool to cool (himself) off.

cool verb [I/T] (CALM)

to (cause to) become calm or weaker in feeling:

[ I ] We need to allow time for tempers to cool.

[ T ] I wish Casey would cool his enthusiasm for video games.

Phrasal verbs

cool (someone) down/off

cool down

(Definition of cool from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

cool | Business English

cool

verb [ I or T ]

/kuːl/ us

(also cool off); (also cool down)

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if an economy, a market, etc. cools, or if something cools it, it grows less quickly than before:

The Canadian economy, which has enjoyed robust growth, is expected to cool off in the second half of the year.

Interest rate rises have done little to cool activity in the housing market.

(Definition of cool from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of cool

cool

Daily productivity is actually low due to low radiation levels and a cool growing season.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The custard, having been made in the morning, was left unrefrigerated and uncovered to cool in the bowl for the rest of the day.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The last particles merely cool gradually and never react.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If the weather is cool, then mating, and subsequent oviposition, are delayed.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The blood from her brain was drained and the brain cooled until all life signs were gone.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The solvent, in this case an acid, was distilled off or evaporated, and the salts were obtained from the highly concentrated solution, usually by cooling.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Open bars represent the cool dry season, shaded bars the hot-dry season and solid bars the rainy season.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Dehydration of biological membranes by cooling : an investigation on the purple membrane.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Once again, circulating cool night air will enhance this effect by pre-cooling the structure before the start of occupancy each day.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Natural infestations are common and epizootics may occur, especially on the ground in cool conditions with high relative humidity and heavy shade.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If the layer of cool air is thin, then the interaction of the aperture wakes with the hot mean flow may be important.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

For farmers in regions that are cooler than the optimum temperature, warming would cause net revenues to go up.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The highest priority season for irrigation water was the dry season, followed by the rainy and cool seasons.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Suppose the stanza turned out to appeal to the choice that modern subjects make to safeguard choice, to remain cool customers in the faith market.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These constituents are formed rapidly from cooled droplets of magma that take on dynamic shape during transport.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of cool?

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