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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

cool.

Of a mildly low temperature.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/kuːl/Received-Pronunciation/kul/US/kʉl/Scotland/kʲɪul/
  1. Of a mildly low temperature.

    I like cool weather the most 'cause it's not too hot to wear a jacket but I won't be too cold in my shorts.
  2. Allowing or suggesting heat relief.

    Linen has made cool and breathable clothing for millennia.
  3. Of a color, in the range of violet to green.

    If you have a reddish complexion, you should mainly wear cool colors.
  4. Not showing emotion; calm and in control of oneself.

    Be cool. There's no need to panic.
  5. Unenthusiastic; lukewarm; skeptical.

    His proposals had a cool reception.
  6. Calmly audacious.

    obsolete
  7. Applied facetiously to a sum of money, commonly as if to give emphasis to the largeness of the amount.

  8. Knowing what to do and how to behave; behaving with effortless and enviable style and panache; considered popular by others.

    informal
  9. Fashionable; trendy; hip.

    informal
  10. All right; acceptable; good.

    informal
    Is it cool if I sleep here tonight?
  11. Very interesting or exciting.

    informal
    I think astronomy is really cool.
  12. Followed by with: able to tolerate.

    informal
    I'm completely cool with my girlfriend leaving me.
  13. Of a pair of people, Having good relations.

    informal
    We're cool, right?
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gel-der. Proto-Indo-European *gól- Proto-Germanic *kalanąder. Proto-Germanic *kōluz Proto-West Germanic *kōl(ī) Old English cōl Middle English cool English cool From Middle English cool, from Old English cōl (“cool, cold, tranquil, calm”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōl(ī), from Proto-Germanic *kōluz (“cool”), from *kalaną (“to be cold, to freeze”), Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold, to freeze”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian kool, koul, kuul, kölj, kööl (“cold”), Saterland Frisian köil (“cool”), West Frisian koel (“cool”), Cimbrian khuul (“chilly, cool”), Dutch koel (“cool”), German kühl (“cool”), Low German köhl (“cool”), Luxembourgish kill (“cool”), Vilamovian kił (“cool”); also Latin gelū, gelum, gelus (“frost; chill, cold”), Belarusian хо́лад (xólad, “cold”), Bulgarian хлад (hlad, “chill, coolness”), Czech chlad (“cold”), Macedonian лад (lad, “shade; coolness”), Polish chłód (“cold”), Russian and Ukrainian хо́лод (xólod, “cold”), Serbo-Croatian хла̑д, hlȃd (“shade”), Sanskrit जड (jaḍa, “cold; stiff”), जल (jala, “water”). Related to cold.

noun/kuːl/Received-Pronunciation/kul/US/kʉl/Scotland/kʲɪul/
  1. A moderate or refreshing state of cold; moderate temperature of the air between hot and cold; coolness.

    uncountable
    in the cool of the morning
  2. A calm temperament.

    uncountable
  3. The property of being cool, popular or in fashion.

    uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gel-der. Proto-Indo-European *gól- Proto-Germanic *kalanąder. Proto-Germanic *kōluz Proto-West Germanic *kōl(ī) Old English cōl Middle English cool English cool From Middle English cool, from Old English cōl (“cool, cold, tranquil, calm”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōl(ī), from Proto-Germanic *kōluz (“cool”), from *kalaną (“to be cold, to freeze”), Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold, to freeze”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian kool, koul, kuul, kölj, kööl (“cold”), Saterland Frisian köil (“cool”), West Frisian koel (“cool”), Cimbrian khuul (“chilly, cool”), Dutch koel (“cool”), German kühl (“cool”), Low German köhl (“cool”), Luxembourgish kill (“cool”), Vilamovian kił (“cool”); also Latin gelū, gelum, gelus (“frost; chill, cold”), Belarusian хо́лад (xólad, “cold”), Bulgarian хлад (hlad, “chill, coolness”), Czech chlad (“cold”), Macedonian лад (lad, “shade; coolness”), Polish chłód (“cold”), Russian and Ukrainian хо́лод (xólod, “cold”), Serbo-Croatian хла̑д, hlȃd (“shade”), Sanskrit जड (jaḍa, “cold; stiff”), जल (jala, “water”). Related to cold.

verb/kuːl/Received-Pronunciation/kul/US/kʉl/Scotland/kʲɪul/
  1. To lose heat, to get colder.

    intransitive · literally
    I like to let my tea cool before drinking it so I don't burn my tongue.
  2. To make cooler, less warm.

    literally · transitive
  3. To become less intense, e.g. less amicable or passionate.

    figuratively · intransitive
    Relations cooled between the USA and the USSR after 1980.
  4. To make less intense, e.g. less amicable or passionate.

    figuratively · transitive
  5. To kill, murder.

    dated · slang · transitive
  6. To relax, hang out.

    intransitive · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gel-der. Proto-Indo-European *gól- Proto-Germanic *kalanąder. Proto-Germanic *kōluz Proto-West Germanic *kōl(ī) Proto-Germanic *-āną Proto-West Germanic *-ēn Proto-West Germanic *kōlēn Old English cōlian Middle English colen English cool From Middle English colen, from Old English cōlian (“to cool, grow cold, be cold”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōlēn (“to become cold”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to freeze”). Cognate with Dutch koelen (“to cool”), German kühlen (“to cool”), Swedish kyla (“to cool, refrigerate”). Also partially from Middle English kelen, from Old English cēlan (“to cool, be cold, become cold”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōlijan, from Proto-Germanic *kōlijaną (“to cool”), altered to resemble the adjective cool. See keel.

noun/kuːl/Received-Pronunciation/kul/US/kʉl/Scotland/kʲɪul/
  1. A measure of butter, usually around 40lb; a container holding such an amount of butter.

    Ireland · archaic
Where this word comes from

Alteration of cowl.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.