coldsleep

C3O1L1D2S1L1E1E1P3

noun

A deep sleep during which the body is stored at very cold temperature, to preserve it; cryogenic sleep.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nouncoldsleep (uncountable)

alternative cold sleep

  1. uncountablespace flightliteratureA deep sleep during which the body is stored at very cold temperature, to preserve it; cryogenic sleep.

    By converting some of the recreation space to storerooms and adapting the storerooms thus cleared to the purpose of cold-sleep, the ship was roomy enough.

    1941 August, Robert A. Heinlein, “Methuselah's Children”, in John W. Campbell, editor, Astounding Science-Fiction, volume 27, number 6
    1 more example

    He had always believed Arcadia lovely, an undespoiled planet waiting for man like a bride, more than worth decades in coldsleep aboard a spaceship, toil and danger of pioneering, isolation from the rest of humankind.

    1968 September, Poul Anderson, “The Faun”, in Boys' Life, volume 58, number 9, page 33

    Synonyms: cryo, cryopreservation, cryosleep

verbcoldsleep (third-person singular simple present coldsleeps, present participle coldsleeping, simple past and past participle coldslept)

present singular third person coldsleeps · participle present coldsleeping · participle past coldslept · past coldslept · alternative cold sleep

  1. space flightliteratureTo experience deep sleep whilst the body is stored at a very cold temperature; to engage in cryogenic sleep.

    Damnation, he was quite capable of refusing to let me cold-sleep.

    1956 October, Robert A. Heinlein, “The Door into Summer”, in Anthony Boucher, editor, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, volume 11, number 4
    1 more example

    The escape capsule in which he'd cold-slept had had another minor malfunction that left him staring drugged and half conscious through the port glass at open space for two days before the cryogenic process had kicked in.

    1990, Anne McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye, The Death of Sleep

    Synonyms: cryopreserve

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA deep sleep during which the body is stored at very cold temperature, to preserve it; cryogenic sleep.

verbTo experience deep sleep whilst the body is stored at a very cold temperature; to engage in cryogenic sleep.

Also see

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“coldsleep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coldsleep. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “coldsleep,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coldsleep.

Source: coldsleep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.