one's blood runs cold

phrase

One feels a physical shock upon realizing a direct threat to one's life, similar to the loss of blood in the brain. It affects the entire body for a few minutes, but does not cause the person to lose consciousness.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. One feels a physical shock upon realizing a direct threat to one's life, similar to the loss of blood in the brain. It affects the entire body for a few minutes, but does not cause the person to lose consciousness.
  2. One experiences a visceral feeling of fear, horror, dread, foreboding, or dysphoria (sometimes with accompanying tingling paresthesias).

    His "blood runs cold" imagining the wrath of Weinstein.

    2004 January 12, Jeffrey Ressner, “Sundances with Wolves”, in Time, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2013
    5 more examples

    Little Oliver's blood ran cold, as he listened to the Jew's words, and imperfectly comprehended the dark threats conveyed in them.

    1838, Charles Dickens, chapter 18, in Oliver Twist

    [M]y blood ran cold and my heart turned to water, for there, before the cave, rolled wolves, many and great.

    1891, H. Rider Haggard, chapter 13, in Nada the Lily

    Her blood ran cold, and her heart seemed pressed in an iron vice.

    1908, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 9, in The Magician

    Here, he read of dreadful crimes that made the blood run cold.

    1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter 20, in Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC

    "Why, it mikes yer blood run cold: they 'ang a man on the stige; oh, it mide me creep all over!"

    1897, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter 7, in Liza of Lambeth, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published [1921], →OCLC

Translations

German einem gefriert das Blut in den Adern
  • einem gefriert das Blut in den AdernOne experiences a visceral feeling of fear, horror, dread, or strong forboding
Polish aż zmroziło
  • aż zmroziłoOne experiences a visceral feeling of fear, horror, dread, or strong forboding
Russian кровь сты́нет в жи́лах
  • кровь сты́нет в жи́лах (krovʹ stýnet v žílax)One experiences a visceral feeling of fear, horror, dread, or strong forboding
Cite this entry
APA

one's blood runs cold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one's%20blood%20runs%20cold

MLA

“one's blood runs cold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one's%20blood%20runs%20cold. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “one's blood runs cold,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one's%20blood%20runs%20cold.

Source: one's blood runs cold on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.