From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcold warˌcold ˈwar noun [singular, uncountable] 1 PGWARan unfriendly political relationship between two countries who do not actually fight each other2 → the Cold War
Examples from the Corpus
cold war• Forget the Berlin Wall itself, there are some lovely kiosks selling cold war kitsch.• The wage erosion, of course, started before the end of the cold war.• The incentive for business to substitute work for capital has been working with particular force since the end of the cold war.• That spread has been levitating in the stratosphere since the end of the cold war.• The release of Nelson Mandela in February 1990 coincided neatly with the end of the cold war.• Since the cold war ended, many state intelligence agencies have struggled to justify their existence.• Britains aerospace industries suffered badly when the cold war ended 4 years ago.• The 20-year cold war between them turned thermonuclear.From Longman Business DictionaryCold WarˌCold ˈWar noun the unfriendly relationship between the US and the USSR after the Second World War, when there was very little trade between the two countriesDespite the end of the Cold War, the NATO alliance continues to expand. 