Hot, warm, cool, cold, chill. Today I am talking about other ways to use these temperature words in informal expressions, or slang.

Have you ever noticed that some words which are normally used to describe temperature, can be used in other ways. You may have heard some of these words used in casual conversations and wondered what the people were talking about. 

Words such as:

Hot – we know that when talking about temperature this describes something that burns.
Cold is the opposite of hot – something that comes out of the refrigerator is cold.
Warm – this is in the middle, less than hot, not uncomfortable, but pleasant.
Cool – not too cold but not quite warm
Chill – the verb “chill” means to make something cold. 

If I feel cold, I might use the adjective and say, “Ooh it’s a bit chilly”.

These words can have meanings unrelated to temperature and these informal or slang expressions are common among native English speakers.  Watch this video to find out more.