Meanings
plural common colds
- medicineA very common, mild viral infection of the nose and throat, whose symptoms typically include sneezing, sniffling, a running or blocked nose, a sore throat, coughing and a headache.
1 more example
So he went to the hospital and got checked. Doctors determined it was a common cold, not the new coronavirus, he says, and he returned home. Then a week ago, he says, five officers showed up at his house in Xishui County, a two hour drive from Wuhan. They wore masks and wielded blue, gun-shaped thermometers.
2020 January 31, Dake Kang, “The shunned: People from virus-hit city tracked, quarantined”, in AP News, archived from the original on 15 Feb 2022Synonyms: acute viral nasopharyngitis, acute coryza, pose, catarrh
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA very common, mild viral infection of the nose and throat, whose symptoms typically include sneezing, sniffling, a running or blocked nose, a sore throat, coughing and a headache.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna mild viral infection involving the nose and respiratory passages (but not the lungs)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Arabic زُكَام
- زُكَام (zukām)mild infection
Chinese Cantonese 感冒
- 感冒 (gam² mou⁶)mild infection
Chinese Mandarin 普通感冒, 感冒
- 普通感冒 (pǔtōng gǎnmào)mild infection
- 感冒 (gǎnmào)mild infection
- 傷風 /伤风 (shāngfēng)mild infection
Czech nachlazení
- nachlazenímild infection
Danish forkølelse
- forkølelsemild infection
Dutch verkoudheid
- verkoudheidmild infection
Esperanto malvarmumo
- malvarmumomild infection
Estonian tavaline nohu
- tavaline nohumild infection
Finnish flunssa, nuhakuume
- flunssamild infection
- nuhakuumemild infection
- vilustumistautimild infection
- vilustuminenmild infection
French rhume
- rhumemild infection
German Erkältung, Verkühlung
- Erkältungmild infection
- Verkühlungmild infection
Hindi सर्दी, ज़ुकाम
- सर्दी (sardī)mild infection
- ज़ुकाम (zukām)mild infection
- जुकाम (jukām)mild infection
- प्रतिश्याय (pratiśyāy)mild infection
Hungarian nátha
- náthamild infection
Indonesian selesma, batuk pilek
- selesmamild infection
- batuk pilekmild infection
Japanese 風邪, 細菌性の風邪
- 風邪 (kaze)mild infection
- 細菌性の風邪 (saikinsei no kaze)mild infection
Korean 감기
- 감기 (gamgi)mild infection
Polish przeziębienie
- przeziębieniemild infection
Portuguese resfriado, constipação
- resfriadomild infection
- constipaçãomild infection
Romanian gripă, răceală
- gripămild infection
- răcealămild infection
Russian просту́да, на́сморк
- просту́да (prostúda)mild infection
- на́сморк (násmork)mild infection
- ОРВИ (ORVI)mild infection
Spanish resfriado común, resfrío
- resfriado comúnmild infection
- resfríomild infection
Swahili mafua ya kawaida
- mafua ya kawaidamild infection
Swedish förkylning
- förkylningmild infection
Tamil சளி
- சளி (caḷi)mild infection
Thai หวัด
- หวัด (wàt)mild infection
Turkish soğuk algınlığı
- soğuk algınlığımild infection
Ukrainian засту́да, просту́да
- засту́да (zastúda)mild infection
- просту́да (prostúda)mild infection
- не́жить (néžytʹ)mild infection
Vietnamese bệnh cảm lạnh
- bệnh cảm lạnhmild infection
Cite this entry
common cold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/common%20cold
“common cold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/common%20cold. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “common cold,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/common%20cold.
Source: common cold on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.