Stone cold Definition 1 of 3Pro Tip 1/3Literal Coldness Used to describe something that's as cold as a rock, which doesn't retain heat. After the power outage, their entire house was stone cold. Pro Tip 2/3Exaggeration Often used to emphasize the unexpected coldness of something. I jumped into the pool and it was stone cold! Pro Tip 3/3Negative Surprise Can express disappointment, like when food that's supposed to be hot is not. I was so hungry, but the soup arrived stone cold.