come in from the cold

UK/ˈkʌm ˌɪn fɹəm ðə ˈkəʊ̯ld/Canada, US/ˈkʌm ˌɪn fɹəm ðə ˈkoʊ̯ld/Australia/ˈkɐm ˌɪn fɹəm ðə ˈkəʉ̯ld/New Zealand/ˈkɐm ˌən fɹəm ðə ˈkɐʉ̯ld/

verb

Of a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory.

“Long an outsider in Western politics, Portugal came in from the cold after the 1974 Carnation Revolution.”

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Meanings

verbcome in from the cold (third-person singular simple present comes in from the cold, present participle coming in from the cold, simple past came in from the cold, past participle come in from the cold)

present singular third person comes in from the cold · participle present coming in from the cold · past came in from the cold · alternative come in out of the cold

  1. idiomaticintransitiveespionageOf a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory.

    I mean … one can't be out in the cold all the time; one has to come in from the cold … do you see what I mean?

    1963 September, John le Carré [pseudonym; David John Moore Cornwell], “The Circus”, in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Coward-McCann, published 1964, →OCLC, page 23
  2. figurativelyidiomaticintransitiveTo gain widespread acceptance in a group or society, especially where there was not any before.

    Long an outsider in Western politics, Portugal came in from the cold after the 1974 Carnation Revolution.

Origin

Literally, the term refers to someone who is outdoors when the weather is cold coming indoors to a warm place. The idiomatic senses were popularized by the title of the novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) by the British author John le Carré (1931–2020); “the Cold” is a pun on the Cold War, during which the novel is set.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish palata kotiin, tulla esiin pimennosta
  • palata kotiinof a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory
  • tulla esiin pimennostato gain widespread acceptance in a group or society, especially where there was not any before
French venir du froid
  • venir du froidto gain widespread acceptance in a group or society, especially where there was not any before
Hebrew חָזַר מִן הַכְּפוֹר
  • חָזַר מִן הַכְּפוֹר (khazár min hakfór)of a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory
Cite this entry
APA

come in from the cold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20in%20from%20the%20cold

MLA

“come in from the cold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20in%20from%20the%20cold. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come in from the cold,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20in%20from%20the%20cold.

Source: come in from the cold on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.