该词最早用于描述戒毒或戒烟后的戒断反应。因为皮肤会变得像冷掉的火鸡皮一样出现鸡皮疙瘩。现在指不依靠任何替代品，突然停掉某种习惯。

• He quit smoking cold turkey two years ago and hasn’t touched a cigarette since. ^{他两年前突然彻底戒了烟，此后就再没碰过。}
• I decided to stop drinking coffee cold turkey. ^{我决定突然把咖啡彻底戒掉。}
• Quitting social media cold turkey was harder than I expected. ^{突然完全不用社交媒体比我想象中要难。}