colds

"Colds" is the plural form of "cold," a word that works both as a noun and an adjective. As a noun, it has a couple of common meanings — most notably the familiar illness. As an adjective, "cold" has several everyday senses, but "colds" in its plural form is almost always used as a noun. Here are the most useful meanings.

1nouncommon illness

A 'cold' is a very common, mild illness that affects your nose and throat. When you have a cold, you might sneeze, have a runny nose, or feel a sore throat. 'Colds' is simply the plural — so you can talk about getting several of them over time. Almost everyone gets a few colds every year, especially in winter.

everyday language / health · Modern, widely used

She gets two or three colds every winter.

Washing your hands regularly can help prevent colds.

Children in daycare tend to catch colds more often than adults.

2nounlow temperature (less common plural use)

Less commonly, 'colds' can refer to periods or spells of cold weather. You might hear this in poetry or older writing, where someone talks about 'the colds of winter' meaning the cold spells or freezing periods of that season.

literary / weather · Formal, more common in older texts

The colds of January made it hard to go outside.

The farmer worried about the early colds damaging his crops.