English · Idiom Attested

come in from the cold

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Gain acceptance.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Được chấp nhận

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The material, long hidden in KGB files or in the memories of intelligence operatives, is up for grabs as ageing ex - KGB agents come in from the cold to trade in their undercover pasts for over - the - counter assets.

But 20 years have at least seen her interests come in from the cold.

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Common questions

What does “come in from the cold” mean?

Gain acceptance.

Is “come in from the cold” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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