phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
run cold
UK/rʌn kəʊld/US/rʌn koʊld/run·COLD
speakingtask2
to become less enthusiastic or to become physically cold
Examples
“When talk of layoffs began, support for the plan ran cold.”
“Her smile ran cold when she saw the results.”
“After the scandal, public interest in the project ran cold.”
Band 8 sentence
“When the minister avoided direct answers, public support for the policy ran cold.”
Collocations
- support ran cold
- smile ran cold
- interest ran cold
Word family
run verbcold adjective
Common mistakes
Her enthusiasm got cold→Her enthusiasm ran cold
run cold (use literally when context is figurative)→run cold (use figuratively for feelings)
Say it for a higher band
5become cold→6cool off→7+run cold
Synonyms
cool off
fade
Easily confused
go cold
“When the minister avoided direct answers, public support for the policy ran cold.”
Related words
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In run …
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