frost
noun
a degree or state of coldness sufficient to cause the freezing of water.
frost
1 American
[frawst, frost]
/ frɔst, frɒst /
noun
-
frosts
plural
-
a degree or state of coldness sufficient to cause the freezing of water.
-
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.
-
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.
-
the act or process of freezing.
-
coldness of manner or temperament.
We noticed a definite frost in his greeting.
- Synonyms:
- reserve, distance, indifference, aloofness
-
Informal. a coolness between persons.
-
Informal. something that meets with lack of enthusiasm, as a theatrical performance or party; failure; flop.
-
a milkshake, frappe, or similar drink.
a chocolate frost.
verb (used with object)
-
frosts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
frosted,
past participle, past
-
frosting
present participle
-
to cover with frost.
-
to give a frostlike surface to (glass, metal, etc.).
-
to ice (a cake, cookies, etc.).
-
to bleach selected strands of (a person's hair) in order to create highlights.
-
to kill or injure by frost.
a freezing rain that badly frosted the tomato plants.
-
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
-
to become covered with frost (often followed by up orover ).
The windshield has frosted over.
-
(of varnish, paint, etc.) to dry with a film resembling frost.
idioms
Frost
2
American
[frawst, frost]
/ frɔst, frɒst /
noun
Frost
1
British
/ frɒst /
noun
-
Sir David ( Paradine ). born 1939, British television presenter and executive, noted esp for political interviews
-
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)
frost
2
British
/ frɒst /
noun
-
a white deposit of ice particles, esp one formed on objects out of doors at night See also hoarfrost
-
an atmospheric temperature of below freezing point, characterized by the production of this deposit
-
degrees below freezing point: eight degrees of frost indicates a temperature of either –8°C or 24°F
-
informal something given a cold reception; failure
-
informal coolness of manner
-
the act of freezing
verb
-
to cover or be covered with frost
-
(tr) to give a frostlike appearance to (glass, etc), as by means of a fine-grained surface
-
(tr) to decorate (cakes, etc) with icing or frosting
-
(tr) to kill or damage (crops, etc) with frost
frost
Scientific
/ frôst /
-
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.
-
See more at dew point
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
frostsimple
-
frostssimple
-
have frostedperfect
-
has frostedperfect
-
am frostingprogressive
-
are frostingprogressive
-
is frostingprogressive
-
have been frostingperfect progressive
-
has been frostingperfect progressive
Past
-
frostedsimple
-
had frostedperfect
-
was frostingprogressive
-
were frostingprogressive
-
had been frostingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing frost
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
Daytime highs will be close to the late September average in most regions but some cold nights are expected with frost possible in a few locations on Thursday morning.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 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
His son was Odin’s father, whose mother and wife were frost maidens.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
On Nov. 2, 2024, Popovich suffered a stroke before a game at Frost Bank Center, the Spurs’ home arena.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
"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
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
She's chosen to appear via video link from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, the maximum security prison on the outskirts of Melbourne where she's serving her sentence.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
‘Yeah, they didn’t name the school Robert Frost Junior High, why we always reading him?” someone else asked.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
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
These low temperatures with widespread overnight frosts are expected to continue well into next week.
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026
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
That’s a perfectly safe strategy in Mexico’s mild climate, but in Canada a disastrous one that would guarantee the plant’s being killed by autumn frosts before it had produced any mature corn cobs.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
While they were at it, what about a pop that looked and tasted like a frosted rainbow cake?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
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
On a Wednesday evening in August, Celeste Perkins walked into El Atacor #1 in Cypress Park holding a towering three-tiered cake, frosted in American buttercream and airbrushed in oversaturated hues of red, green and blue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2025
It seems odd to want to walk around smelling like baby bottles or frosted cupcakes.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2025
They were a frosted gray, and they clinked together in the palm of her hand.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
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
It tastes like chocolate frosting, and it revives me a little.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
