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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

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

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

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

With grandma’s nest egg and mom and dad’s retirement tied up in a young couple’s first home, even a slight chill in property valuations causes an arctic frost on consumer sentiment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Unlike laboratory mice, which often require researchers to artificially trigger tumor growth, lemon frost geckos develop cancer naturally and at a relatively young age.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Blinding frost instantly covered the faceplate of his helmet.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

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

Patterson watched this week's proceedings at Melbourne's Supreme Court via a live video link from her maximum-security prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne's western suburbs.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 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

“It used to be an easy no,” said Doug Frost, the master sommelier who helps United make its selections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Mr. Um said his name was Frost, but she should call him Jay, and Mrs. Perkins smiled and said he should call her Noona, and she’d put the kettle on.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

Further night frosts are expected in places during the week ahead.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

Wet earth, plenty of sunshine and a lack of frosts have combined to give some plants a noticeable head start.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026

Air and ground frosts have fallen by around 25% since the 1980s, and snow days are becoming increasingly rare across the UK.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025

As the growing season progresses, the plant puffs itself into a roughly spherical shape, until the first frosts, when it snaps off its stalk and waits to be blown across the landscape.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025

Never had there been such terrible frosts as there were that year.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Images show the large windows at the front facing onto the street and a window - perhaps with frosted glass - on the side where the motorhome was parked.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 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

“You couldn’t see the fine details, but you could see everything else,” said Denise Milano Sprung of the frosted bathroom door of the hotel room she shared with her husband at the Calgary Airport Marriott.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

Holding three-month-old Colin under one arm, she frosted and decorated the cake.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026

I squeezed lemons for lemonade while Mama Ya-Ya frosted the cake.

From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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

A soft, spice-warmed cake that layers apples three ways—applesauce in the crumb, roasted chunks folded through and a tangy apple butter frosting on top.

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 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

Fred thought about the time Susan had made him a meat loaf cake with mashed potato frosting for his birthday.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein