cold snap

noun

a sudden onset of a relatively brief period of cold weather.

Also called cold spell.

Origin

1770-80, Americanism

Examples from the web for cold snap

When their predictions turn from cold snap to heat wave, say, it can play havoc with the forward price of gas.
Their sudden disappearance may have been caused by a cold snap or ice age and their sudden appearance during a warm snap.
Another possibility is that global warming could be contributing to the cold snap.
And with a thaw last week, they were waiting again, praying for another cold snap.
In theory, the cold snap at the gate should end soon.
When people's azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them.
We can experience an influx of birds to the region only to have them move out with a sudden cold snap or storm.
Heavy, wet snow followed by a cold snap could require more time to clear than dry snow.
In the spring they commonly spend a few days active then enter hibernation again during a cold snap.
Since there is no regulatory oversight a sudden unexpected cold snap can send prices soaring.

British Dictionary definitions for cold snap

cold snap

noun

a sudden short spell of cold weather

Slang definitions & phrases for cold snap

cold snap

noun phrase

A short spell of cold weather (1776+)

Idioms and Phrases with cold snap

cold snap

Also, cold spell. A short period of unusually cold weather, as in The recent cold snap has threatened the crop. The first expression presumably likens snap in the sense of “a sudden bite or cut” to sudden unexpected cold. The variant is more obvious, spell having been used in the sense of “a bout or turn at something” since the early 1700s. [ Early 1800s ]