CoachHot and cold are comparing words, like big and small. Soup is hot compared to your hand; ice is cold compared to your hand. Between the two there is a whole ladder of words: freezing, cold, cool, lukewarm, warm, hot, burning.
Examples
Example 2.2 (Ordering three drinks)
On the table: a hot chocolate, a glass of tap water, a glass of orange juice straight from the refrigerator. From coldest to hottest: the juice, then the tap water, then the hot chocolate. The tap water is cold next to the chocolate but warm next to the juice — comparing words always work in pairs.