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3. in a cold sweat

in a cold sweat

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in a cold sweat

in a state of fear. He stood there in a cold sweat, waiting for something bad to happen. I was in a cold sweat while they counted the ballots.

See also: cold, sweat

in a cold sweat

very frightened or worried I dreamed I'd lost our plane tickets and woke up in a cold sweat.

See also: cold, sweat

in a cold sweat

Feeling nervous or terrified, as in When I looked over the cliff, I broke out in a cold sweat. This expression refers to perspiring accompanied by a feeling of cold, which can be induced by acute fear as well as by fever. [Late 1700s]

See also: cold, sweat

in a cold sweat

mod. in a state of fear. He stood there in a cold sweat, waiting for something to happen.

See also: cold, sweat