Colt vs Cold Quiz: Test Yourself
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A young male horse. A young female horse is called a filly.
Low in temperature, or a common illness with a runny nose and cough.
Also a name: Colt is a well-known firearms brand, and the Indianapolis Colts are an NFL team.
Horse in the sentence? Use colt. Temperature or illness? Use cold.
Colt vs cold is a pair that gets mixed up because the two words differ by just one letter and sound nearly the same when people talk fast. A typing slip or an autocorrect change can turn “a cold day” into “a colt day” without anyone noticing. The meanings, however, have nothing in common, so the right choice is easy once you know what each one describes.
| Term | Meaning | Part of speech / Category | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| colt | A young male horse | Noun | The colt trotted beside its mother. |
| cold | Having a low temperature | Adjective | The water was too cold to swim in. |
| cold | A common viral illness of the nose and throat | Noun | I caught a cold after the trip. |
| Colt | A firearms brand name or part of a team name (the Colts) | Proper noun | The Colts won their opening game. |
What does colt mean?
A colt is a young male horse, usually one that is still a few years old at most. The word is used for horses in farming, riding and racing, and it always points to a male. A young female horse is called a filly, and a very young horse of either sex is called a foal.
Colt can also be used loosely for a young, inexperienced person, as in a “young colt” in a team, although this figurative use is less common. In most sentences you will see, colt simply means a young male horse.
What does cold mean?
Cold means having a low temperature, and it can also name the common illness that makes you sneeze and cough. As an adjective it describes weather, food, water or even a person’s manner, as in a “cold stare.” As a noun it names the illness, as in “I have a cold.”
Cold is one of the most flexible words in the pair. You can feel cold, drink a cold drink, wait out a cold snap, or get a head cold. Because it covers so many everyday situations, it is far more common than colt in most writing.
Colt vs cold: which one should you use?
Use colt for a young male horse and cold for temperature or illness. The easiest test is to ask what the sentence is about. If a horse is involved, colt is right. If the sentence is about weather, temperature, food, feelings or a sniffly nose, cold is right.
The mix-up usually happens in the other direction: people write colt when they mean cold, because the final letters are close on the keyboard and sound alike in quick speech. Read your sentence aloud and picture the scene. A “colt wind” makes no sense, while a “cold wind” does, and a “cold galloping across the field” is just as odd as a colt with the sniffles.
Is Colt a brand or a team name?
Yes, Colt with a capital C is also a name. Colt is a well-known firearms brand, and the Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team. In both cases the capital letter marks it as a proper noun, so it is not the same as the horse word. If you are writing about the team, use “Colts” for the group and “Colt” only when it is part of a name, such as a player’s or brand’s name.
How can you remember which one to use?
Here are three quick tricks to keep the words straight:
- D for degrees. Cold ends in “d,” like the degrees on a thermometer going down.
- T for trot. Colt ends in “t,” like a horse’s trot.
- Say it slowly. Cold has a long “o” and a soft “d” ending, while colt ends with a sharper “t” sound.
What are the most common colt vs cold mistakes?
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between colt and cold?
A colt is a young male horse, while cold means a low temperature or a common illness. The words sound alike and differ by one letter, but their meanings are unrelated.
Is a colt a baby horse?
Not exactly. A colt is a young male horse, a young female horse is a filly, and a very young horse of either sex is a foal.
Is Colt a brand name?
Yes. With a capital C, Colt is a well-known firearms brand, and the Indianapolis Colts are an American football team. The horse word is lowercase colt.
Why do people mix up colt and cold?
The words differ by only one letter and sound very similar in fast speech. Typing slips and autocorrect can also swap one for the other.
Is cold a noun or an adjective?
Both. As an adjective, cold describes a low temperature, as in a cold day. As a noun, it names a common illness, as in having a cold.
Colt vs cold: which should you choose?
When you weigh colt vs cold, remember that a colt is a young male horse and cold is about temperature or a common illness. Pick colt for horses and cold for weather and sniffles, and your writing will stay clear and correct. Share this with someone who mixes these two up!