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cold turkey

noun, adv, verb — 5 senses

cold turkey

noun

Etymology Various explanations; see Cold turkey § Etymology on Wikipedia.

1

Idiomatic, Informal A sudden and complete withdrawal from a dependent substance, especially a drug.

2

The physiological effects of such a withdrawal.

3

Government, Military, Politics, War US, Slang Something exposed as a target due to surmountable defense.

cold turkey

adv

Etymology Various explanations; see Cold turkey § Etymology on Wikipedia.

1

Idiomatic Not gradually; all at once; referring especially to quitting a habit by force of will rather than by a gradual reduction.

  • It is difficult, but possible to quit smoking cold turkey.
  • I knew that, if I had daily access to video games, I would spend literally every day playing them, forever. So I cut myself off, more or less cold turkey, and as a result I was more or less happy and productive.2012 April 4, Sam Anderson, “Just One More Game ...”, in The New York Times Magazine, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020:
1 more example
  • Joan Baez:: ‘I talk to trees to get answers. They give it to you cold turkey’.2023 October 5, Rich Pelley, “Joan Baez: ‘I talk to trees to get answers. They give it to you cold turkey’”, in The Guardian, UK, archived from the original on 06 Nov 2023:

cold turkey

verb

Etymology Various explanations; see Cold turkey § Etymology on Wikipedia.

1

Informal To undergo sudden and complete withdrawal from a dependent substance, especially a drug.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.