cold case

plural cold cases

1. criminologyA criminal investigation that has not been solved after a considerable time but remains on the books and may be reopened when new evidence appears.

   1 more example

   ‘I had my researchers check the files on all the mispers and cold cases five years either side of that date estimate, on females of that approximate age. This is what they found. Fill your boots.’ He took a large gulp of his drink. / ‘I’m impressed, you've been moving fast.’ / ‘On it like a car bonnet, mate.’

   2015, Peter James, You Are Dead, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, →ISBN

2. literallyA refrigerated display case used for selling items that are kept cold.

   We'd each grab a twenty-ounce Coke from the cold case, and at the end of the movie, Kate would still have a nearly full bottle.

   2015, Andie Mitchell, It Was Me All Along: A Memoir, →ISBN, page 61