turn the cold shoulder on someone

A form of give someone the cold shoulder — To snub, resist or reject somebody; to regard somebody distantly.

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Meanings

verbturn the cold shoulder on someone (third-person singular simple present turns the cold shoulder on someone, present participle turning the cold shoulder on someone, simple past and past participle turned the cold shoulder on someone)

present singular third person turns the cold shoulder on someone · participle present turning the cold shoulder on someone · participle past turned the cold shoulder on someone · past turned the cold shoulder on someone

  1. alternativeAlternative form of give someone the cold shoulder.

    Casaubon has devilish good reasons, you may be sure, for turning the cold shoulder on a young fellow whose bringing-up he paid for.

    1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], Middlemarch […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book (please specify |book=I to VIII)

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
snub
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“turn the cold shoulder on someone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20the%20cold%20shoulder%20on%20someone. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turn the cold shoulder on someone,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20the%20cold%20shoulder%20on%20someone.

Source: turn the cold shoulder on someone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.