坐 冷 板 凳

zuò lěng bǎn dèngdictionary entry

to hold an inconsequential job / to receive a cold reception / to be kept waiting for an assignment or audience / to be out in the cold / to be sidelined / to warm the bench / to cool one's heels

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-c3281e9d983df5f3. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

坐冷板凳 坐冷板凳 [zuo4 leng3 ban3 deng4] /to hold an inconsequential job/to receive a cold reception/to be kept waiting for an assignment or audience/to be out in the cold/to be sidelined/to warm the bench/to cool one's heels/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.