1
: completely cold
stone-cold soup
The weather was stone-cold and often gray, with a 20-mile-an-hour headwind scouring the backstretch.—
Lorna Lentini
—often used figurativelyLorna Lentinia stone-cold killer
… his stone-cold calculation was that he could score more money more quickly with a bat and glove.—Scott Burton
Scott Burton
US, informal
: absolutely, utterly
stone-cold sober
Walter Anderson was a stone-cold handsome guy, a tall, powerfully built man with a thick head of wavy blond hair …—Edgar Allen Beam
Edgar Allen BeamExamples of stone-cold in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2025
There was a lot left to explore in Booth’s past as a hero soldier and stone-cold killer — in the movie he is depicted as maybe or maybe not deliberately killing his irate wife with a spear gun on a boat.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2025
The Matrix is the stone-cold classic, and Dark City has its devotees (Roger Ebert notable among them), but for me, Francis Lawrence’s directorial debut about a psychic consultant has always been the best distillation of this aesthetic.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Their voices blend gloriously on this fresh yet stone-cold country rendering of the song, which highlights the enduring heritage of Latino country music.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2025
Ricky’s poor mother has hardly slept a wink in 15 years, ever since that fateful knock at the door, and despite her stone-cold front, Joanne, an old friend of the Smiths, is actually doing her best to keep Ricky on the straight and narrow.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2025
The whole Tracy Chapman album, start to finish, is an absolute stone-cold classic.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
Trending on Billboard Keith, newly signed to Warner Music Nashville, turns in a slab of stone-cold country on his new EP Blue.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 9 Dec. 2024
These pieces, and many more, animate the house, turning it into a stone-cold stunner.
—Andrew Sessa, Robb Report, 1 Dec. 2024
Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 22 Feb. 2023
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Adjective
With veteran composure, freshman Sarah Strong out to lead UConn women to a 12th national title
Even after the UConn women secured a Final Four berth with a win over USC, freshman Sarah Strong never broke her stone-cold exterior.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2025
There was a lot left to explore in Booth’s past as a hero soldier and stone-cold killer — in the movie he is depicted as maybe or maybe not deliberately killing his irate wife with a spear gun on a boat.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2025
The Matrix is the stone-cold classic, and Dark City has its devotees (Roger Ebert notable among them), but for me, Francis Lawrence’s directorial debut about a psychic consultant has always been the best distillation of this aesthetic.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
Their voices blend gloriously on this fresh yet stone-cold country rendering of the song, which highlights the enduring heritage of Latino country music.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2025
Ricky’s poor mother has hardly slept a wink in 15 years, ever since that fateful knock at the door, and despite her stone-cold front, Joanne, an old friend of the Smiths, is actually doing her best to keep Ricky on the straight and narrow.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2025
The whole Tracy Chapman album, start to finish, is an absolute stone-cold classic.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
Trending on Billboard Keith, newly signed to Warner Music Nashville, turns in a slab of stone-cold country on his new EP Blue.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 9 Dec. 2024
These pieces, and many more, animate the house, turning it into a stone-cold stunner.
—Andrew Sessa, Robb Report, 1 Dec. 2024
Adverb
Now, 30 years after its initial release, the song is a stone-cold ’90s country classic and has been a mainstay in Jackson’s concerts for the past three decades.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 22 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Stone-cold.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stone-cold. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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