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• frost
  frost

  noun

  a degree or state of coldness sufficient to cause the freezing of water.
• Frost
  Frost

  noun

  Robert (Lee), 1874–1963, U.S. poet.

frost

¹ American  

[frawst, frost] / frɔst, frɒst /

noun

• frosts
  plural

1. a degree or state of coldness sufficient to cause the freezing of water.

2. Also called hoarfrost. a covering of minute ice needles, formed from the atmosphere at night upon the ground and exposed objects when they have cooled by radiation below the dew point, and when the dew point is below the freezing point.

3. an opaque coating of tiny, white, granular ice particles, formed on the walls or contents of a freezer by the condensation of water vapor; rime.

4. the act or process of freezing.

5. coldness of manner or temperament.

   We noticed a definite frost in his greeting.

   Synonyms:

   reserve, distance, indifference, aloofness

6. Informal. a coolness between persons.

7. Informal. something that meets with lack of enthusiasm, as a theatrical performance or party; failure; flop.

8. a milkshake, frappe, or similar drink.

   a chocolate frost.

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verb (used with object)

• frosts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• frosted,
  past participle,  past
• frosting
  present participle

1. to cover with frost.

2. to give a frostlike surface to (glass, metal, etc.).

3. to ice (a cake, cookies, etc.).

4. to bleach selected strands of (a person's hair) in order to create highlights.

5. to kill or injure by frost.

   a freezing rain that badly frosted the tomato plants.

6. to make angry.

   I was frosted by his critical comment.

verb (used without object)

• frosts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• frosted,
  past participle,  past
• frosting
  present participle

1. to become covered with frost (often followed by up orover ).

   The windshield has frosted over.

2. (of varnish, paint, etc.) to dry with a film resembling frost.

idioms

1. degree of frost, the degree of temperature Fahrenheit below the freezing point.

   10 degrees of frost is equivalent to 22°F.

Frost ² American  

[frawst, frost] / frɔst, frɒst /

noun

1. Robert (Lee), 1874–1963, U.S. poet.

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Frost ¹ British  

/ frɒst /

noun

1. Sir David ( Paradine ). born 1939, British television presenter and executive, noted esp for political interviews

2. Robert ( Lee ). 1874–1963, US poet, noted for his lyrical verse on country life in New England. His books include A Boy's Will (1913), North of Boston (1914), and New Hampshire (1923)

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frost ² British  

/ frɒst /

noun

1. a white deposit of ice particles, esp one formed on objects out of doors at night See also hoarfrost

2. an atmospheric temperature of below freezing point, characterized by the production of this deposit

3. degrees below freezing point: eight degrees of frost indicates a temperature of either –8°C or 24°F

4. informal something given a cold reception; failure

5. informal coolness of manner

6. the act of freezing

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verb

1. to cover or be covered with frost

2. (tr) to give a frostlike appearance to (glass, etc), as by means of a fine-grained surface

3. (tr) to decorate (cakes, etc) with icing or frosting

4. (tr) to kill or damage (crops, etc) with frost

frost Scientific  

/ frôst /

1. A deposit of tiny, white ice crystals on a surface. Frost forms through sublimation, when water vapor in the air condenses at a temperature below freezing. It gets its white color from tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice crystals.

2. See more at dew point

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unfrost
  verb (used with object)
• frostless
  adjective
• frostlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• frosts
  plural

Participles

• frosting
  present
• frosted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• frost
  simple
• frosts
  simple
• have frosted
  perfect
• has frosted
  perfect
• am frosting
  progressive
• are frosting
  progressive
• is frosting
  progressive
• have been frosting
  perfect progressive
• has been frosting
  perfect progressive

Past

• frosted
  simple
• had frosted
  perfect
• was frosting
  progressive
• were frosting
  progressive
• had been frosting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will frost
  simple
• will have frosted
  perfect
• will be frosting
  progressive
• will have been frosting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of frost

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English frost, forst; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German, Old Norse frost; akin to freeze

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Explanation

Frost is a thin, icy coating that forms on very cold, damp nights. During a New England winter, you'll have to scrape frost off your car windshield almost every morning. Frost is made of tiny crystals of ice that appear white and tend to form on windows, the ground, trees, and cars. While frost can be lovely on a window, with its snowflake shapes and patterns, it can also be dangerous for farm crops if it forms unexpectedly early or late in the year. Frost comes directly from the Old English, and it has a Proto-Germanic root.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frost Frost frosts frosted frosting

Wednesday night will bring the first frost of the season to some places, as colder air arrives from the Arctic.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

A metal bed with a refrigeration system that maintained a continuous layer of frost over its surface was placed at its center.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The fourth season of “Ted Lasso” doesn’t entirely frost those bad vibes with its happiness and hopium.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

"We know what to do for frost or hail, but not wildfires," she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

He breathed it out in clouds and it froze in white frost on his mustache and beard.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

"The storms that aligned already looked different about a day beforehand," said Fischer, who also is a core faculty member of the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

The i Paper also leads on the "huge legal bill" for the prince and other celebrities including Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost opened an esoteric window to prime-time viewers with the concept of the Black Lodge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

She has asked to watch the appeal by live video link from her prison, the maximum-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne's western suburbs.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

For my next report on Robert Frost, I will count the memories of my uncles.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

The BBC first started charting the pothole's ups and downs during the frosts of February 2025.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

This combination of weather types - with a lack of overnight frosts - has meant an early bloom of spring flowers, especially in southern England.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026

While it is expected to be a little too breezy for widespread overnight frosts, some prone locations may dip to freezing where skies clear between weather fronts.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

As the year comes to a close and icy winds bring the first frosts of winter, they are flying to warmer places to nest and feed.

From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025

As the hard frosts grew less reliable, the planes continued to struggle to take off out of the mud.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Teen Fed was a Swiss talent with frosted tips and an attitude.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

He went to the toilet, which is when he saw a flicker of orange through the frosted glass of the window.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

I took an elevator and approached a door with frosted glass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026

If you’re not in the mood for a hulking sirloin — and if just creamed spinach and a frosted martini feel like insufficient ballast — skip the burger.

From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026

The door to the office was closed, but I could see someone’s shape behind the frosted glass.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

When frosting a cake, consider piping in swirls rather than straight lines for a tipsy Victorian look.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Dubbed dot cakes, they start with boxed cake mix to make the base and double down on that nostalgic flavor with store-bought frosting and sprinkles.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

Everything else is just frosting on the cake.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026

“Big wasn’t a crush, he was a crash,” Carrie says to Miranda as she peels down the wrapper on a cupcake topped with bright pink buttercream frosting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026

Or the dry Stella D’oro cookies with their cement frosting, which he raves and raves about and manages to find even in the most remote locations.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

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