What is the confusion or misuse of the term knockout in boxing? In boxing, a boxer can be knocked out while still conscious and moving, if partially arises but fails to fully rise to his (or her) feet before a count of 10, they are considered “knocked out” but are most certainly not “out cold”. Do some people out cold mean fully unconscious, not responding with something in a deep sleep? Boxing further has the concept of a “technical knockout” which does not involve unconsciousness, but rather a boxer who is unable to continue for medical safety reasons such as being unable to defend themselves against the future attacks, e.g., an injury in the arm due to his head or intubating a punch. , blood dripping in the eyes out of the cuts, rendering the eyes unable to see.

So “knocked out cold” is a conglomeration of these concepts. The “out cold” part is a description of their current condition, and the “knocked” part is describing that it resulted from a physical blow or impact.

Thus “knocked out cold” would be appropriate descriptive for someone who was “knocked” fully unconscious by a physical impact, usually a blow to the head, and was completely unresponsive for a period of time. Does an unresponsive person last longer than a standard seconds?