Idiom
Cold turkey
By EasySay. Published . Updated .
Cold turkey means stopping a habit suddenly and completely, with no slow steps.
The habit might be sugar, coffee, smoking or too much time on a phone. People say they quit cold turkey or went cold turkey. It is casual, and you will hear it in Australia, the UK and the US.
Written for EasySay, in our own words.
In short
- AvoidDo not use it for leaving a job or a place.
- Or sayStop suddenly
Cold turkey: what it is, and what it is not
- IS
- Stopping a habit suddenly and completely, with no slow steps.
- IS
- Collins calls the drug-treatment sense slang.
- IS NOT
- About a turkey served cold: it means stopping a habit suddenly and completely.
- DEPENDS
- Cambridge marks the noun sense (the sickness after stopping a drug) as US.
Meaning: Stopping a habit suddenly and completely, with no slow steps.
How do people say it?
- In conversation:
I gave up sugar in my tea cold turkey, and the first week was hard.
- At work:
Our team went cold turkey on long meetings and sent one short email instead.
Check yourself
What should I know?
The words say
A turkey served cold, like leftover meat from the fridge.
It really means
Stopping a habit all at once, with no slow cutting down, and often with no help. People also use “cold turkey” for a blunt start with no warning, and for the sick feeling after stopping a drug.
What do dictionaries say?
- In Australia
- Collins calls the drug-treatment sense slang. The dictionaries we checked give it no Australian label, so it is general English, not only from Australia.
- In the UK
- The dictionaries we checked give it no British label, so it is general English, not only from the UK.
- In the US
- Cambridge marks the noun sense (the sickness after stopping a drug) as US.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- Do not use it for leaving a job or a place. It is about a habit that you stop.
- Say “cold turkey”, not “cold chicken” or “cool turkey”. Only these two words carry this meaning.
- For a serious addiction, speak kindly and leave advice about health to doctors. Stopping a strong habit can be hard, and the phrase makes it sound easy.
Three patterns to learn are “quit cold turkey”, “stop cold turkey” and “go cold turkey”. The two words come at the end of the idea, and they describe how you stop, not what you stop.
You can add the habit before them: “I gave up sugar cold turkey.” The phrase is a fixed pair of words, so keep “cold turkey” as it is and do not swap in another bird or another temperature.
Use it when the point is the suddenness. If someone cuts down slowly, over weeks, the phrase does not fit. It also tells the listener that the change was hard, because it came without a gentle path.
That is why people say it with a smile about coffee or sweets, and why it deserves more care when a real addiction is involved. In a serious talk, plain words such as “stopped completely” are kinder.
To remember it, think of a cupboard that is emptied in one go. The sweets, the coffee or the phone are all taken away on the same day, and nothing is left to nibble on. Cold turkey is the opposite of a slow plan, such as one cup less each week.
When you hear the phrase, listen for the idea of “suddenly” in the story, because that is the heart of it. In speech, the two words come together and are said clearly, as in “I quit cold turkey.”
What else can I say?
- Stop suddenly Plain and clear in any country. People say “He stopped smoking suddenly.”
- Quit outright Neutral. It stresses that nothing of the habit is left.
- Give up all at once Plain. It is the same idea in everyday words.
More idioms
- Under the weather Feeling a little unwell or tired, not at your best.
- Bite the bullet To face something hard or unpleasant and get on with it, because you cannot avoid it.
- Piece of cake Very easy to do; no trouble at all.
More examples
- In a text:
Day three of quitting coffee cold turkey. Please send chocolate.
Questions people ask
Is “cold turkey” only about drugs?
No. People use it for everyday habits such as sugar, coffee, smoking or phones. It also appears in talk about serious addiction, where kind and careful words matter more.
Can I say “cold turkey” at work?
Yes, with colleagues in a relaxed talk, for example about giving up coffee. Choose plainer words in a formal meeting or when you talk about someone else’s health.
What is the difference between “cold turkey” and “cutting down”?
Cold turkey means stopping all at once. Cutting down means using or doing a little less each time, so the change is slow.
Sources and dates
- EasySay's own writing for the idioms, EasySay. Licence: original writing for EasySay. Checked .
- Collins English Dictionary and COBUILD: usage labels, HarperCollins Publishers. Licence: our own words, from the facts in the source. Checked .
- Cambridge Dictionary: usage labels, Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Licence: our own words, from the facts in the source. Checked .
Cite this page
EasySay. "Cold turkey". https://easysay.org/idioms/cold-turkey. Last updated 23 October 2026.
https://easysay.org/idioms/cold-turkey