cold sore

US/ˈkoʊld ˌsɔɹ/

noun

A small bump (namely a vesicle) on the lips resulting from infection by herpes simplex viruses (mostly HHV1 but also HHV2).

Similar
fever blisterherpesherpes simplexherpes simplex 1herpes labialisoral herpes
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Meanings

nouncold sore (plural cold sores)

plural cold sores

  1. medicineA small bump (namely a vesicle) on the lips resulting from infection by herpes simplex viruses (mostly HHV1 but also HHV2).

    Synonyms: fever blister, herpes, herpes simplex, herpes simplex 1, herpes labialis

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA small bump (namely a vesicle) on the lips resulting from infection by herpes simplex viruses (mostly HHV1 but also HHV2).

Similar
fever blisterherpesherpes simplexherpes simplex 1herpes labialis

More synonyms by meaning

nouncaused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)

Similar
oral herpesherpes labialisfever blister
Broader
herpes simplex
Also see
fever blister

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Compound of cold + sore, probably for the tendency of the vesicles to recur along with other illness, or possibly during cold weather, though this explanation is less common. Compare synonym fever blister.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan pansa
  • pansasmall bump on the lips
Chinese Mandarin 唇皰疹 /唇疱疹
  • 唇皰疹 /唇疱疹 (chúnpàozhěn)small bump on the lips
Danish forkølelsessår
  • forkølelsessårsmall bump on the lips
Dutch koortslip
  • koortslipsmall bump on the lips
Finnish yskänrokko
  • yskänrokkosmall bump on the lips
French bouton de fièvre, feu sauvage
  • bouton de fièvresmall bump on the lips
  • feu sauvagesmall bump on the lips
German Lippenherpes, Fieberbläschen
  • Lippenherpessmall bump on the lips
  • Fieberbläschensmall bump on the lips
Hungarian herpesz, ajakherpesz
  • herpeszsmall bump on the lips
  • ajakherpeszsmall bump on the lips
  • szájherpeszsmall bump on the lips
Polish opryszczka
  • opryszczkasmall bump on the lips
Romanian abces rece
  • abces recesmall bump on the lips
Russian просто́й ге́рпес, ге́рпес губ
  • просто́й ге́рпес (prostój gérpes)small bump on the lips
  • ге́рпес губ (gérpes gub)small bump on the lips
Swedish munsår
  • munsårsmall bump on the lips
Turkish uçuk
  • uçuksmall bump on the lips
Vietnamese mụn rộp
  • mụn rộpsmall bump on the lips
Cite this entry
APA

cold sore. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20sore

MLA

“cold sore.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20sore. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cold sore,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20sore.

Source: cold sore on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.